Participate in a federal election

Bundestag elections are held every 4 years. All citizens who meet the requirements may take part in the election and cast their vote. Every eligible voter has 2 votes to cast in the Bundestag election, the first vote for a member of parliament in the constituency and the second vote for the state list of a party.

You can either cast your vote in person at the polling station on election day or beforehand by postal vote.

At the polling station, you cast your vote on a ballot paper. You will receive this from the electoral board when you enter the polling station. You then take the ballot paper into a polling booth one at a time. There you mark the ballot paper. Then fold the ballot paper so that your mark cannot be seen. The electoral board will then check whether you are on the electoral roll and therefore eligible to vote using your polling card or ID. If this is the case, you can put your ballot paper in the ballot box. It will be noted in the electoral roll that you have cast your vote.

If you would like to cast your vote by postal vote, you must apply for this. A postal vote application can be submitted online, by post, fax or e-mail. You can apply in person at the electoral office or one of the branch offices. It is not possible to apply by telephone.

Requirements

You may vote in a Bundestag election if you

• have German citizenship,
• have reached the age of 18 on election day at the latest,
• have lived in Germany for at least 3 months or have otherwise habitually resided there and
• are not excluded from the right to vote (e.g. by a judge's decision).

What documents do I need?

• Polling station
  
  • Polling card, if applicable
  • identity document
• Postal vote
  
  • Provide personal data (name, date of birth, registration address/main address, different shipping address if applicable)