Ballot paper and absentee ballot documents; application

In principle, you vote at the polling station where you are registered as eligible to vote in the electoral roll. If you wish to vote by absentee ballot or at another polling station in your constituency (for municipal and federal elections), constituency (for state and district elections), or county/town (for European elections), you must apply to your municipality for a ballot paper. Here, as in the following, your contact for member municipalities of an administrative community is also the administrative community instead of the municipality, if applicable.

You also need a ballot paper for participation in the election if you are exceptionally not registered in an electoral roll, but are nevertheless entitled to vote for the election in question.

To be able to obtain a ballot paper, you

• be eligible to vote in the election in question,
• in principle, be registered on the electoral roll
  . (for exceptions, please contact your municipality directly) and
• apply to your municipality for a ballot
  . You do not have to justify this application.

If you are eligible to vote in the election in question, you will be entered ex officio (i.e. without application) in the electoral roll of the voting district of your municipality in which you are registered with your main place of residence on the cut-off date 42nd day before the election, or (in the case of municipal and county elections) in which you are residing with your main place of residence on the 35th day before the election. In this case, you will receive a written "election notification" from your municipality about your right to vote, the requirements and modalities of voting, and the applicable polling place about five to three weeks before election day, as well as an indication of whether the polling place is handicapped accessible (barrier-free). The municipality can also provide you with more detailed information about barrier-free polling stations.

If you have not received an election notification, but think you are eligible to vote, you should immediately contact the election office of your municipality and clarify whether and, if so, in which other voting/election district or in which other municipality you are eligible to vote. Especially in the case of relocations after the deadline for the creation of the electoral roll, an entry can no longer be made ex officio. If necessary, either the electoral roll can then be corrected accordingly or, under certain conditions, you can be issued with a ballot paper certifying your right to vote.

You can apply for the ballot in the following ways:

• The best way is to fill out the form printed on the back of the election notification and return it to the municipality by mail or hand it in there
• Using a corresponding online form on the Internet (possibly via QR code on the election notification), if this is offered by your municipality
• Other way in writing (e.g. by letter, fax, e-mail), stating the necessary data
• Personally by visiting the municipality

Application by telephone is not possible.

For the application, at least the following information is necessary:

• Family name
• First name
• Date of birth
• Complete residential address (street, house number, zip code, city)
• If not using the form on the back of the election notification: if possible, also the on the election notification contained voting or Election district and the electoral roll number
• if necessary, a different address for the delivery of the ballot with absentee ballots (eg vacation address).

The municipality will send you the ballot paper with the absentee ballot documents (ballot paper, ballot paper envelope, absentee ballot envelope for return, leaflet for the correct exercise of the absentee ballot) in principle by mail to your residential address or, if applicable, to the other address provided by you (in this case, a notification will be sent to your residential address at the same time, if the application is submitted electronically).

Tip: If you apply for the ballot in person at the municipality, you can take the documents with you to avoid postal delivery times. In this case, it is usually also possible for the person entitled to vote to exercise the absentee ballot on the spot; the ballot letter then no longer has to be returned to the municipality by mail or otherwise, but it can be handed in there right away and will be kept safe by the municipality until election day.

Proxy

If you are unable to apply for the ballot paper yourself, you can authorize another person to do so by means of a written power of attorney. If you can neither apply for a ballot paper yourself nor grant a power of attorney because of a physical disability, you may use the help of a person you trust to make the application. This person must credibly demonstrate that the application is in accordance with your will.

You may also authorize another person in writing to collect the documents. The application forms for the ballot paper already contain a corresponding formulation for a power of attorney. However, the authorized person may not represent more than four eligible voters and must also assure the municipality of this in writing at the time of collection.

A proxy for voting itself is not possible, however, i.e. you must exercise your right to vote in person in any case. If you are not able to do so due to an inability to write, e.g. because of a physical disability or visual impairment, you can also avail yourself of the assistance of another person when marking the ballot paper, who must act according to your will. On the ballot paper, you must affirm in lieu of an oath that you voted in person or that you were marked by an auxiliary person.

The application for a ballot paper can usually be made until the second day before the election, i.e. until Friday, 3 p.m. (for Bundestag and European elections until 6 p.m.); in certain exceptional cases (eg. if the voting room in a proven sudden illness can not be visited or only with unreasonable difficulty), the ballot paper can also be applied for until election day, 3 p.m.

The election letter must be received no later than 6 p.m. on Election Sunday at the location named on the envelope (election office of the municipality). The transport risk lies with the voter.

• When applying for a ballot orally without using the form on the election notification or an online form:
  
  • Official photo ID (e.g. ID card, passport),
  • if possible also presentation of the election notification
  .
• When applying for or collecting the ballot paper for other persons:
  
  • each separate written power of attorney for the application and collection of the ballot and
  • official photo ID
  .
• When exercising the right to vote in another polling station (see above):
  
  • Voting slip and
  • official photo ID

The application and issuance as well as sending of the ballot paper with absentee ballot documents by the municipality is free of charge for you. If you send the application by mail to the municipality, the respective postage costs will apply.

The return of the election letter to the municipality with the official red envelope is postage-free within Germany. If you choose a special form of dispatch (e.g. registered mail) or return the election letter from abroad, you will have to pay the applicable postage costs yourself.