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European elections; information
Members of the European Parliament are elected every five years in each member state.
Responsible for you
Die Bundeswahlleiterin
Street address
Gustav-Stresemann-Ring 11
65189 Wiesbaden
Postal address
65180 Wiesbaden
Phone
Fax
Website
Route planner
Timetable for public transport
Landeswahlleiter des Freistaates Bayern
Street address
Nürnberger Str. 95
90762 Fürth
Postal address
90725 Fürth
Phone
Website
Standort im BayernAtlas
Procedure details
Description
The European election is a general, direct, free and secret ballot held every five years in the European Union to elect the members of the European Parliament.
Citizens of the European Union are subject to the same eligibility requirements for participation in the European elections as Germans:
To be eligible to vote in Germany, they must
- have reached the age of 16,
- are entered in a voters' register,
- have resided for at least three months
a) in the Federal Republic of Germany or
b) in the other member states of the European Union
or otherwise habitually reside there, - are not excluded from the right to vote.
EU citizens living in Germany must decide whether they wish to vote at their place of residence in Germany or in their home country.
The legal basis for the election procedure in Germany are the relevant regulations in European Union law, the European Elections Act with the Federal Elections Act, which applies in part accordingly, and the European Election Regulations. Germany has 96 Members of the European Parliament. They are elected by universal, direct, free, equal and secret suffrage. The election is based on the principles of a purely proportional representation system. Each voter has one vote for a list drawn up by a party or other political association. The order of the candidates on the list cannot be changed by the voters. There are no direct constituencies. The calculation of seats is based on the nationwide strength ratio of the votes cast for the list nominations. There is no threshold clause in the European elections as there is in Bundestag or Landtag elections.
Legal bases
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Vertrag über die Europäische UnionKonsolidierte Fassung vom 07.06.2016
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Vertrag über die Arbeitsweise der Europäischen UnionKonsolidierte Fassung vom 07.06.2016
Related issues
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Bundestag election; informationMembers of the German Bundestag are elected every four years.
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European, Bundestag and Landtag elections; inspection of the electoral roll
The municipal authorities keep a list of eligible voters for each electoral district.
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European elections; submission of an election proposal
Parties and other political associations based in the Member States of the European Union may submit nominations for the European elections. A list can be submitted for a single federal state or a joint list for all federal states.
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Election assistant; appointment
As honorary members of the electoral and postal ballot boards, electoral assistants are responsible for the proper conduct of elections and votes and for determining and establishing the results.
Status: 06.06.2025
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bayerisches Staatsministerium des Innern, für Sport und Integration
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