gotchanewsdaily.com 
The idea for the so-called Bieraktion had been brewing (pun intended) for a while, Murrack said. He and others in the city’s election administration were looking for novel ways to reach voters who don’t read traditional media or pay close attention to the city’s information campaigns.
So far, it seems to be having the desired effect: “My boys are 15 and 17 and they said, ‘Dad, you’re on TikTok!’” Murrack said of the attention the city’s campaign is getting on social media. “The whole thing is really making waves and being discussed in the social classes that you would normally have trouble reaching.”
In Duisburg and across the country, the effort is making headlines: The German broadcaster MDR referred to it as “Prost (cheers) to democracy,” while the Bild newspaper called it a “beer booster.”
Glass half full
About 68 percent of the city’s eligible voters turned out in the last federal election in 2021 — roughly 8.5 percentage points lower than the national average. And one electoral district in Duisburg had the lowest turnout in the country, just 63 percent.
The city already tried luring voters to the polls with beer once before, with disappointing results. Ahead of last year’s European Parliament election, it offered a nonalcoholic beer to voters who turned in their ballots early — only to have very few people take that up. Although political parties have long plied supporters with beer on the campaign trail, the 2024 effort appeared to be the first time a major German city offered such a perk to voters.
Some residents were critical. “I don’t expect free beer from the city,” a Duisburger told MDR at the time. “I expect them to accomplish something.”
