Exception Franchise Age:
16 for state and municipal elections in some Länder
Compulsory Vote:
Not compulsory
Eligibility Exception:
persons with certain cases of insanity or mental disorder
Right Vote Foreign Res:
EU citizens right to vote for local elections or equivalent
Expat Residency Requirement:
Expatriate citizens have right to vote for set number of years
Registration Type:
Automatic registration
Registration Basis:
Residence requirement
Election Management & Enforcement
Nameof EMB:
Buneswahlleiter
Independent EMB:
No
EMBNominations:
11 members selected by the EMB chair; Federal Administrative Court. Expert based membership.
EMBTenure:
4 years
Nameof Elect Enforcement Body:
Federal COnsitutional Court
Candidacy & Campaign Rules
Restrictto Candidacy:
Eligible to stand for parliament are all persons who have been German citizens for at least one year, are at least 18 years old and have not been disqualified on the basis of special statutory provisions. The minimum age for parliamentary candidates has been reduced several times since 1949. Up to the 1969 federal election anyone aged 25 or over was eligible but by the time of the 1972 election the age had been lowered to 21. Since the 1976 election the minimum age has been 18 in accordance with a law passed on 31 July 1974 on the basis of Article 38, Paragraph (2) of the Basic Law.
Debate Average:
1
Debate Format:
2017: One debate between Schulz and Merkel. Merkel did not want more.
Opinion Polls Embargo:
No embargo
Electoral System & Organisation
Elect System Main Election:
Mixed
Main Election Type:
Federal
Main Election Cycle:
4
Referenda_Law:
In case of restructuring of the federal territory (changing the boundaries of certain Länder). The federal law or Länder treaty concerned has to be confirmed by an mandatory referendum. This clause effects only delimitation of the federal territory. Source: Article 29 of the Basic Law (German Constitution)
Rules Non Fixed Term:
The date of the election for the Bundestag is fixed by the Federal President. It must be a Sunday or public holiday. Article 39, Paragraph (1), third sentence, of the Basic Law prescribes that the new election must be held at the earliest 45, at the latest 47, months after the beginning of the legislative term, that is, after the first meeting of parliament, and Paragraph (2) of Article 39 stipulates that the Bundestag must assemble at the latest on the 30th day after the election. The four-year legislative term ends when the new parliament convenes for its constituent session.
Voting Machine:
None
Vote IDRequired:
ID check compulsory
Polling Card:
Polling card sent but not compulsory
Dayof Election:
Sunday
Districting Source:
Other Independent Body
Districting Flexibility:
The following criteria apply for changes to delimitation of constituencies: 1. The Länder (state) boundaries shall be respected. 2. The population of a constituency should not deviate from the average population of the constituencies by more than 25 per cent in either direction ; where the deviation constitutes more than 33 1/3 per cent, a re-delimitation shall be made. 3. The number of constituencies in the respective Länder (state) should as far as possible correspond to the latter's share of the total population. 4. Each constituency should form a coherent area. 5. Wherever possible, the boundaries of municipalities, districts and towns independent of district administration should be respected. The Federal President shall appoint a permanent Constituency Delimitation Commission. It shall consist of the President of the Federal Statistical Office, a judge of the Federal Administrative Court, and five other members.
Frequency Districting Change:
4
Polling Station
Normal Opening Time Poll Station:
08:00
Normal Closing Time Poll Station:
18:00
Listof Polling Station Buildings:
public buildings, schools
Accessibility Requirement:
Party to UNCRPD. Party to UNCRPD The Act on Equal Opportunities for Disabled Persons of 2002 serves to implement for people with disabilities the ban on discrimination laid down in Article 3, paragraph 3 of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (“No people shall be disadvantaged because of disability”). Its objective is to establish equal opportunities and barrier-free access in fields covered by public law. People with disabilities are to be given broad access to all areas of life and to be able to use them without any restrictions.
Ballot Box Transparency:
Mixed
Box Feeding System:
Voter
Vote Receipt:
No receipt
Tellersor Party Employees:
Either they have been recruited by the municipality — they can only turn that summons down if they have a convincing reason — , or they offer their services to the state election supervisor or their local electoral office. A few days ahead of the vote, volunteers undergo training to make sure they understand their responsibilities and the legal procedure. They can be party members, but they have to remain impartial during the vote. Either they have been recruited by the municipality — they can only turn that summons down if they have a convincing reason — , or they offer their services to the state election supervisor or their local electoral office. A few days ahead of the vote, volunteers undergo training to make sure they understand their responsibilities and the legal procedure. They can be party members, but they have to remain impartial during the vote. About 650,000 volunteers will be participating in the German federal election 2017, posted at 88,000 polling stations across the country, usually classrooms in schools or in public buildings.
Count Locallyor Centrally:
locally
Manualor Automatic Count:
manual
Ballot Paper
Ballot Type:
Paper
Singleor Multi Paper Ballot:
Single
Max Numberof Votesper Ballot:
2
Ballot Paper Type Description:
Ballot papers vary across the 16 Bundesländer. Parties are allowed to register nationwide candidate lists or lists for different Bundesländer. Only the Christian Democratic parties (CDU/CSU) chose no to register nationwide lists. Hence, the ballot papers differ only with respect to the CDU/CSU regional lists. Every voter has one vote to give to a party. A maximum of ten names of each party's candidates are printed on the ballot sheet. The party decides on the ranking of the candidates. The content and the structure of the ballot papers are specified in Section 30 of the Federal Elections Act. In keeping with that provision, constituency candidates competing for first votes are listed in the left-hand column, while the Land lists of the parties for which second votes may be cast appear in the right-hand column of the ballot paper. At the top of the list, the order is determined by the parties running with Land lists. Their order in the right-hand column of the ballot paper depends on how many second votes these parties won in the respective Land in the latest Bundestag election of 2013. All other parties are listed in alphabetical order.
Ballot Paper Type Photo Upload:
YES
Orderof Candidatesor Parties:
Other
Remote Voting
Temporal Remote Voting:
Automatic right
Geographical Remote Voting:
Automatic right
Personal Remote Voting:
No
Time Temporal Remote:
2
Remote Voting List:
Absentee voting has existed in Germany since 1957, in order to ensure that all German citizens, especially the old, sick, and disabled, and citizens living abroad, have had the opportunity to participate in elections. Like in many other countries, in more recent years, voting by mail has become increasingly popular among younger and non-disabled citizens residing within the country
Mobile Polling Stations:
Yes
Special Needs
Provision First Time Voters:
‘How to vote’ pack
Provision Illiterate Voters:
Federal Elections Act (1993, last amended 2013). Section 33, subsection 2 states: A voter who is illiterate or who due to a physical handicap is prevented from marking the ballot paper, from folding it, or from placing it into the ballot box himself or herself may be aided by another person.
Provision Linguistic Ethnic Minorites:
bilingual website
Provision Blind Voters:
Federal Elections Act (1993, last amended 2013). Section 33, subsection 2 states: A voter who is illiterate or who due to a physical handicap is prevented from marking the ballot paper, from folding it, or from placing it into the ballot box himself or herself may be aided by another person.
Provision Deaf Voters:
Federal Elections Act (1993, last amended 2013). Section 33, subsection 2 states: A voter who is illiterate or who due to a physical handicap is prevented from marking the ballot paper, from folding it, or from placing it into the ballot box himself or herself may be aided by another person.
Provision Motor Handicap Voters:
Federal Elections Act (1993, last amended 2013). Section 33, subsection 2 states: A voter who is illiterate or who due to a physical handicap is prevented from marking the ballot paper, from folding it, or from placing it into the ballot box himself or herself may be aided by another person.
Over Representation Vuln Group:
Exemption from 5% rule for parties representing national minorities
Targeted Initiatives
History Major Changes:
Election age lowered from 25 to 20 in 1919 by the Weimar Republic's constitution.
Failed Experiments:
Germany ended electronic voting in 2009, with the German Federal Constitutional Court finding that the inability to have meaningful public scrutiny meant that electronic voting was unconstitutional.