How to vote in Germany

In Germany, your are eligible to vote if you

• have reached the age of 16 (to stand for election, however, the minimum age is still 18);
• hold German or another EU citizenship;
• are resident in Germany and have also resided in the EU for at least three months;
• are entered in the electoral register (for the EU citizen).

German or EU citizen voting in Germany
You have to vote in a specific polling station based on your home address. The location of the polling station is indicated on your notification. You can, however, apply for a polling card allowing you to vote by post or to go to another polling station of your administrative district or town (for example, in case your allocated polling station is not accessible).

German citizen voting abroad
You can vote by postal ballot subject to being registered in the voters’ register.

German or EU citizen voting in Germany
If you are German and your primary residence in Germany is registered at least 42 days before the election date, you are automatically registered on the voters’ register of your municipality of residence. People entitled to vote who register a new residence after the 42nd day and before the 21st day before the election will only be entered in the voters' register of the new place of residence upon application. Anyone who is registered to vote must have received an election notification from the municipal authority by the 21st day before the election at the latest. Anyone who has not received an election notification by this date should contact the municipal authority immediately.

EU citizens entitled to vote who are registered in Germany can vote either in Germany or in their home Member State. If they wish to vote in Germany, they must apply to be entered in the electoral roll for their first participation in a European election in Germany; they are then automatically registered for subsequent elections. The application form can be downloaded here(only available in German).

The application must be received by the municipality at the place of residence no later than the 21st day before the election 19th May 2024.

German citizen voting from abroad
If you have no registered domicile in Germany, you are not automatically entered into the voters’ register. You have to submit a formal application for entry into the voters’ register before each election. The municipality in charge is the one you were last registered with before moving abroad.

A municipal authority in Berlin (‘Bezirksamt Mitte’) is responsible for German expatriates who have never lived in the domestic territory for a minimum of three months.
Adult Germans permanently living abroad who are not disqualified from voting are entitled to go to the polls if, after reaching the age of 14 (which means from their 14th birthday), they 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, they have become familiar, personally and directly, with the political situation in Germany and are affected by it.

You can find more information on Germans living abroad on this page of the website of the Federal Returning Officer.