YOUR GUIDE TO VOTING IN GERMANY

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When to Vote

9 June 2024

Mark your calendars!

Anyone aged 16 or over on the election day can vote if they are residents of Germany and have also resided in the EU for at least three months, and hold either German citizenship or the citizenship of another EU country. 

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Do I have an obligation to Vote?

No, there is no legal obligation. However, you know what we say…use your vote anyway!

Where can I vote?

Illustration showing different ways to vote, by mail, in person or online.

If you are a German citizen voting in Germany

If you live in Germany, check the notification received from authorities, because you should be able to vote at the polling station assigned to your home address. And guess what?! You don’t have to register, the authorities will do it for you, if your residence is registered at least 42 days before the election date.

How do you know you are on the voters’ list? The German authorities should send you a notification. In case you did not receive it, you should contact the municipality.

Did you recently change your residence? You have to register it to be on the voters’ list. Make sure to do it before the 21st day (May 19) before the elections.

If you are a German citizen voting from another EU country

Do you live abroad?  To vote, you need to register to be on the voters’ list, if you have lived in the European Union for at least three months before the elections. To be on the list, you have to send the application form to the municipality were you last registered before moving abroad. In case you have never lived in Germany, you have to send your application to a municipality in Berlin. You can find more details here.

Once registered, you can vote by mail.

Are you travelling abroad during the election day? Then you will still be registered on the voters’ list in German, in your municipality. In this case, you can vote by mail. Learn more here.

Deadline to register: you have to register by 19 May 2024. Exceptions can be made, but you have to prove you were not able to register do to external factors.

If you are an German citizen voting from a country outside the EU

The same rules of registration apply when voting outside the European Union. However, please keep in mind that you can vote only if:

  • after reaching the age of 14, you were either resident in Germany for an uninterrupted period of at least three months and this stay dates back not more than 25 years or
  • for other reasons, you have become familiar, personally and directly, with the political situation in Germany and are affected by it.

You can find more information here.

If you are EU citizen voting in Germany

As a legal resident in Germany, you can of course vote there, but not vote in your own country! Make sure to register to be on the voting list. Once you do so, the authorities will automatically register you for the upcoming elections. You have to send the application form to the municipality where you have your place of residence.

Deadline to register: you have to register by 19 May 2024.

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Voting Online
Can I vote online?
NO ✖ Unfortunately you cannot vote online in Germany.
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Voting by Mail
Can I vote by mail?
Good news, ✓ YES, you can vote by mail. All you have to do is to apply in advance and order a postal ballot.
FIND MORE INFO
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Voting by Proxy
Can I vote by proxy?
NO ✖ Unfortunately you cannot vote by proxy in Germany.
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Voting & accessibility

Do you have a disability or an illness? If you cannot go to the polling station, there are forms of assistance available:

  • some polling stations are accessible (it should be written on your notification)
  • you can ask for someone to assist you at the polling station
  • paper ballot templates are available for blind and visually impaired people
  • you can vote by mail if you cannot go to the polling station
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fun facts

  • Germany was one of the founders of the European Coal and Steel Community, what we know nowadays as the European Union, on 12 July 1958.
  • Germany will have 96 members of the European Parliament, the same as in the previous elections in 2019.
  • If you are an EU citizen living in Germany and you already registered for the 2019 European Elections, you don't have to register again this year - you are already on the voting list.
  • There is only one national constituency and everyone votes for the same list across the country.
  • Germany uses closed lists - voters cannot alter the party list.
  • There is no official threshold for the European elections.
  • The first ever printed book was in German, and the first magazine was launched in Germany in 1663.
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