The city of Erlangen is responsible for the preparation, implementation and follow-up of the local elections in Erlangen (Photo: Press Office). To ensure that the election runs smoothly, several employees of the Citizens' Office(Electoral Office) are entrusted with the comprehensive preparations for the elections.

Despite the preparations for the election, the citizen services on the first floor of the town hall (such as applying for ID cards, re-registration, driving license matters, certificates of good conduct, vehicle registration, resident parking permits, disabled parking permits) can be used as usual.

Photo: Press office cz - Entrance to the town hall

Anyone who can vote on election day

• is at least 18 years old
• have German citizenship or are an EU citizen
• have been registered in Erlangen as their main or sole place of residence for at least two months as of January 8, 2026.

The electoral rolls for the voting districts can be viewed from February 16 to February 20, 2026 at the electoral office, Rathausplatz 1, 91052 Erlangen, 1st floor, room number 115. Access is barrier-free. The times:

• Monday and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:00 to 12:00.

Eligible voters will receive an election notification from January 30 until February 15 at the latest. There are two options for voting:

On election day: Voting at the polling station

The polling station is indicated on the polling card. You can vote there on March 8 from 8:00 to 18:00. You will need to bring your polling card and an identity card or passport. Please keep your authorization to vote after the ballot. It is also valid in the event of a mayoral run-off election on March 22.

Before election day: Voting by post (postal vote)

It is not necessary to go to the polling station. Votes are cast in advance by post or in person at the town hall. However, postal voting must be applied for.

Apply for postal voting online here

More information about postal voting can be found here.

When voting by post, it is not necessary to go to the polling station on election day. Votes are cast in advance by post or in person at the town hall. Postal voting must be applied for within a certain period. Read more about postal voting here

Apply for postal voting online here

Eligible voters have one vote. The candidate who receives more than half of the valid votes cast is elected. If none of the candidates achieves this majority, there will be a run-off election on March 22 between the two candidates with the most votes. The candidate who receives the majority of valid votes cast is then elected.

What are the duties of a Lord Mayor?

The Lord Mayor (in smaller municipalities the first mayor)

• heads the city administration - in Erlangen with currently over 3,000 employees
• convenes and chairs the city council meetings
• implements the city council resolutions and the resolutions of the committees with the support of the city administration
• is the representative of the city of Erlangen.

Read more about responsibilities here

In Erlangen, the Lord Mayor is a full-time position due to the size of the city with around 120,000 citizens. The (second) mayor is the deputy mayor.

Council chamber with a view of the podium and bell (Photo: Press Office rh)

The city council has 50 members. The eligible voters therefore have 50 votes in the election. If more than 50 votes are cast, the ballot paper is invalid. However, fewer than 50 votes can be cast.

Three options for the allocation of votes

• Individual candidates on a list (election proposal) can be given up to three votes (cumulate).
• The votes can also be distributed among candidates from different lists (election proposals) (panache).
• A list (election proposal) can also be marked with a cross. Each person on this list then receives one vote. If a list is ticked and additional votes are allocated to other persons on other lists, the individual votes are decisive.

Here: Online sample ballot paper

What are the tasks of the City Council?

The City Council works on an honorary basis. The meetings take place in the council chamber of the town hall (photo: Press office rh - council chamber).

The tasks of the city council are regulated in the Bavarian municipal code and in the city's rules of procedure. Above all, it decides on all matters

• within its own sphere of influence (classic for the city area, e.g. adoption of bylaws, development plans, subsidies for associations) and
• matters of delegated authority (tasks assigned to the city by the state),

insofar as they are not assigned to decision-making committees or are the responsibility of the Lord Mayor.

The City Council can form committees to support its work.

Read more about the city council (municipal council in small municipalities) here

By the way: The speakers (professional city councillors, professional municipal councillors) are not elected on March 8. Their terms of office differ from the term of office of the city council. The officers are elected by the City Council.

The council chamber in the town hall - where committees and the city council meet (Photo: Press office rh)

Here: Overview of candidates

The announcements are made in accordance with local custom. In Erlangen, this is done by posting notices in the entrance area of the town hall and in the official gazette "Die amtlichen Seiten".

The announcements

• Invitation to submit nominations for the election of the City Council and the Lord Mayor as well as on the registration options in support lists for the election of the Lord Mayor and the City Council - Special Official Gazette No. 25 a of December 9, 2025.
• Submission of nominations for the election of the Lord Mayor and for the election of the City Council - Special Official Gazette No. 1a of January 12, 2026.
• Announcement of the approved nominations for the election of the Lord Mayor, announcement of the approved nominations for the election of the City Council and the annex to the announcement of the approved nominations for the election of the City Council - Special Official Gazette No. 2 a of January 28, 2026.

No. Those entitled to vote are free to decide

• whether to vote and if so
• in which election they wish to participate.

This follows from the electoral principle of "free choice":

• those entitled to vote are free to make their choice
• no one may exert pressure on them.

Two elections take place on election day. It therefore takes some time for the results to be available. Counting begins at 18:00. The order is fixed.

• The ballot papers for the mayoral election will be counted first. Based on quick reports, the first results can be expected from around 18:30 on election day. A provisional official result is expected at around 9.00 pm.
• The city council election will then be counted. The first quick reports are not expected before 8:30 pm. A provisional official result is not expected before midnight. Depending on the status of the count, it may be necessary to continue the count on Monday morning, March 9.

The term of office of the Lord Mayor and the City Council begins on May 1, 2026. It lasts six years and ends on April 30, 2032.

The town hall (Photo: Press office kw)

The ordinance of the City of Erlangen on the display of notices and posters and on representations by billposters - the billposting ordinance for short - applies.

Here are the most important points:

• According to Section 2 (1) of the Billposting Ordinance, the political parties, voter groups and candidates registered for the elections may put up or have posters put up in the city area up to 43 days before the election date. Specifically, this is Saturday, January 24, 2026, from 6:00 am. The provisions of Section 2 (2) of the Billposting Ordinance must be complied with. In particular, this regulates the temporal and spatial specifications for the installation and mounting locations as well as the poster characteristics.
• Posters may not be erected or affixed at certain locations (Section 2 (3) of the Billposting Ordinance).
• As a general rule, the person responsible for the content and installation must be named on all posters (name or company and address).
• Damaged posters, including the mounting material, must be removed immediately. Posters or poster supports that are not properly attached must be repaired immediately.
• The posters must be removed no later than one week after the end of the permitted billposting period.

Violation of the billposting ordinance constitutes an administrative offense. It can be punished with a fine.

Various government agencies offer comprehensive information. For example

• the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior - here is a video
• the Bavarian State Office for Statistics.

The Bavarian State Center for Political Education offers information in easy language as a barrier-free pdf - click here.

The election announcements can be found in"Die amtlichen Seiten", the official gazette of the city of Erlangen.

The municipal election committee has approved the following nominations for the election of the Lord Mayor:

• Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern e.V. Volleth Jörg, Mayor, born 1971
• FREIE WÄHLER Bayern / Free Voters' Association Erlangen: Wirth-Hücking Anette, biology laboratory assistant, city councillor, 1963
• Alternative for Germany: Aust Robert, graduate engineer, safety engineer, 1962
• Alliance 90/The Greens / Green List: Linhart Eva, Dipl.-Ing., project manager for energy generation, city councillor, 1973
• Social Democratic Party of Germany: Dr. Janik Florian, Lord Mayor, 1980
• Ecological Democratic Party: Jarosch Joachim, Banker, City Councillor, 1981
• Free Democratic Party: Dr. Schulze Holger, university professor, city councillor, 1967
• Erlangen Left Party: Eitel Lukas, economist, city councillor, 1998