Merkel faces test as polls open in German elections

Germans are voting in key state elections that are being seen as a major test of support for Chancellor Merkel's refugee policies. Voters' concerns about the record migrant influx may play into the populist AfD's favor.
 Voting booths in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt opened at 8 a.m. local time (0700 UTC) on Sunday. More than 12 million Germans are eligible to vote in the polls to elect new regional parliaments in the three states.
DW's Kate Brady in Mainz reported opinion polls showing the left-of-center Social Democrats leading with 36 percent, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel's own Christian Demostratic Union (CDU) was just under with 35 percent in Rhineland-Palatinate. The populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) was polling at about nine percent.
"By midday Sunday, electorate turnout in the Rhineland-Palatinate was at 44 percent - 13 percent higher than at the same time in the 2011 state election," Brady said.
Meanwhile, DW's Naomi Conrad said "polls point to a resounding victory for Greens" in Baden-Württemberg, referring to the environmentally-oriented political party.