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How Bundestag elections work
Article Community & integration
Members of the German Bundestag are elected in general, direct, free, equal and secret elections.
The German Bundestag is elected for a four-year term. New general elections must be held no sooner than 46 and no later than 48 weeks after the legislative term begins. The Federal President sets the date for Bundestag elections (Section 16 of the Federal Electoral Act). According to a convention of the constitution the Federal Cabinet proposes a date for the elections. After asking the federal states (Länder) and the political parties represented in the Bundestag, the Federal Minister of the Interior proposes an appropriate date to the Federal Cabinet.
Voting at a polling station and voting by mail
Voters cast their ballots at polling stations using official ballot papers. Voting machines are no longer used in Germany since the Federal Constitutional Court ruled on 3 March 2009 that the Federal Ordinance on Voting Machines (Wahlgeräteverordnung) was unconstitutional. In the constituencies, polling districts having one polling station are established for municipalities and urban neighbourhoods of up to 2,500 residents; nationwide, there are about 90,000 polling districts. Polling stations are to be chosen and furnished to enable all voters, especially those with disabilities or limited mobility, to vote. The voter’s notification indicates whether a polling station is accessible and where voters can get more information on accessible polling stations. Voters who cannot read or who are unable due to disability to mark, fold or deposit their ballot paper in the ballot box without assistance may receive help from an assistant or from the Electoral Board. Ballot paper templates to enable blind and visually impaired persons to vote without assistance are available from the German Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBSV).
The voter’s notification sent to every eligible voter also includes an application form for a polling card to vote by mail. With this polling card, voters may cast their ballot at a different polling station in their constituency than the one indicated in the voter’s notification (for example, at a polling station accessible for the disabled) or they may vote by mail. Voters may request polling cards until 18:00 on the Friday before the election and in exceptional situations (such as sudden illness) until 15:00 on Election Day. Polling cards may be requested in writing or in person from the municipality, or via fax or e-mail, but not by telephone. If a request is sent electronically to send voting documents to an address other than the voter’s residence, the responsible authority also sends notification to the voter’s residence to confirm that the voter did in fact send the request and to prevent misuse.
To vote by mail, voters must fill out the ballot paper, seal it in the blue envelope and send it in the red postal voting envelope together with the polling card and the signed statutory declaration in lieu of an oath. In Germany, mail ballots sent via Deutsche Post AG do not require postage. It is important to send mail ballots in time, especially when voting from abroad: Mail ballots must be received by the responsible authority by 18:00 on Election Day.
Eligible voters and electoral registers
Anyone who has attained the age of 18 is entitled to vote (Article 38 (2) of the Basic Law). According to Section 12 (1) of the Federal Electoral Act, the following persons are entitled to vote: all Germans as defined in Article 116 (1) of the Basic Law who are at least 18 years old on Election Day, have occupied a residence or have been normally resident in the Federal Republic of Germany for at least the last three months and who are not excluded from the right to vote.
According to Section 13 of the Federal Electoral Act, the following persons are excluded from the right to vote: persons who by court decision do not have the right to vote; persons for whom a custodian has had to be appointed (and not only by provisional order) to manage all their affairs; and persons who by court order are in a psychiatric hospital because they committed a crime but have been found to lack criminal responsibility due to mental illness.
The municipality automatically enters all eligible voters in the electoral register of their constituency if they have registered their address with the responsible registration authority in Germany at least 42 days before the election (13 August 2017). At least 21 days before the election (3 September 2017), voters receive their voter’s notification and an application form for a polling card to vote by mail. Anyone who has wrongly been left off the electoral register may view the register from the 20th to the 16th day before the election (4 to 8 September 2017) and object to the inaccuracy or incompleteness of the electoral register; they may also lodge a complaint with the constituency electoral committee regarding the decision on their objection. The electoral register is closed between the third and last day before the election. After that, it can be corrected only until the start of voting in the case of obvious inaccuracy or incompleteness.
Voting rights of Germans residing abroad
If all the other above requirements are met, Germans who have not occupied a residence for three months on Election Day (Germans residing abroad) but did occupy a residence or were normally resident in Germany for at least three months after attaining the age of 14 and no more than 25 years earlier are also entitled to vote. At their request, they are entered in the electoral register for their last place of residence in Germany and may vote by mail from abroad. It is important to request and return the mail ballot in time.
According to a recent amendment of the electoral law, German citizens residing abroad who do not meet these conditions (for example because they did not occupy a residence in Germany for three months without interruption during the past 25 years) may also request to be entered in the electoral register if for other reasons they are personally and directly familiar with political circumstances in the Federal Republic of Germany and are affected by them (such as persons employed abroad, cross-border workers, Germans residing abroad who are significantly involved in German politics and society through their activity in associations, parties or other organizations and describe their involvement). Here too, their last place of residence is responsible. If the person in question was never registered as a resident in Germany, the municipality with which he or she is most closely associated is responsible.
Electoral complaints and scrutiny of elections
Decisions and measures related to voting can be appealed within two months of Election Day in election scrutiny proceedings. The Bundestag is responsible for scrutiny of elections; its Committee for the Scrutiny of Elections rules on appeals. Bundestag decisions may be appealed by petition to the Federal Constitutional Court. Election scrutiny proceedings examine both the validity of the election and the violation of individual rights.
