Voting by post

If you want to vote by post, you will need a polling card. You can request a polling card from the municipal authority of your main place of residence either

• in person, or
• in writing. Applications submitted by fax or e-mail are also deemed to meet the requirement for written form. In many municipalities, the documents may be requested online.
• It is not possible to apply by telephone.

On the back of your voter's notification, you can find an application form that you can complete and send back.

However, you can also file the application before you have received your voter's notification. The following information is required:

• surname
• first name(s)
• date of birth
• home address (street, number, postal code, town).

Anyone filing the application on behalf of another person must present written authorisation. Therefore, an application may only be filed in person or in writing (not electronically!) in such cases.

Persons with disabilities who are entitled to vote may ask another person to help them with the application.

The municipal authority will send the polling card and the postal ballot documents to the applicant's home address or, on request, to another address (for instance the holiday address).

You may also collect the documents in person at the municipal authority. In that case you also have the option of voting by postal ballot directly on site.

You should apply for a polling card as early as possible. There is no need to wait until you receive your voter’s notification.

Voters may request a polling card until 3 p.m. on the Friday before election day (= 21 February 2025). In exceptional situations it is possible to request a polling card as late as 3 p.m. on the day of the election, for example if the voter finds it impossible or unreasonably difficult to go to the polling station due to a confirmed sudden illness.

If persons entitled to vote collect their postal ballot documents in person from the municipal authority, they may cast their vote immediately on site. In this case, it must be ensured that the voter can mark the ballot paper and put it into the ballot paper envelope without anyone watching.

It is possible to vote in the election by post from abroad. However, sufficient postage must be affixed to postal ballot return letters posted abroad. Furthermore, the postal ballot return letter must be posted in good time to ensure it is with the competent authority, indicated on the letter, no later than 6 p.m. on the Sunday on which the election is held. We recommend sending postal ballot return letters from non-European countries by airmail. For this purpose, you will need an airmail sticker (Priority/Prioritaire), which you can get on the internet, for instance.

The postal voting pack containing the postal ballot documents can be issued or posted only after the final admission of the nominations and once the ballot papers have been printed. In this early election to the Bundestag, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community has significantly shortened the time available for this process by statutory instrument. It is therefore important to file the application in good time with the competent municipal authority. You can even file your application today!

In response to your application, you will be issued or sent a postal voting pack containing the following documents:

• A polling card. Your polling card must be signed personally by the municipal authority official authorised to issue it and bear the official seal. The official seal may be embossed. If the polling card has been produced automatically, there may be no signature; the name of the designated official may be printed on it instead.
• An official ballot paper.
• An official ballot paper envelope.
• An official return envelope (red) bearing the full address to which the postal ballot return letter is to be sent. It will also indicate the issuing authority of the municipality and the polling card number or the polling district.
• A detailed postal ballot instruction sheet containing all the necessary information and clear illustrations about how to vote by post.

If you assure the municipal authority that you did not receive your polling card or have lost it and the authority is satisfied this is the case, you can be issued a new polling card as late as noon (12:00) on the Saturday before the election. Please contact your municipal authority as soon as possible.

• Mark your vote or votes (first and/or second vote) on the ballot paper yourself without anyone watching and then put the ballot paper into the envelope (ballot paper envelope) and seal it.
• Date and sign the "affirmation in lieu of an oath pertaining to the postal ballot" provided at the bottom of your polling card.
• Put both the polling card and the ballot paper envelope into the red official return envelope.
• Seal the red official return envelope and put it in the post (no stamp is required for delivery within Germany; affix sufficient postage if posting from outside Germany) or deliver it directly to the authority indicated on the envelope.

The official return envelope can only be delivered to the authority indicated on the envelope.

It is very important that the postal ballot return letter be posted in good time or handed in directly to the authority indicated on the official return envelope. It must be with the competent authority no later than 6 p.m. on the Sunday the election is held because polls close at 6. p.m. and the counting of votes then commences. Postal ballot return letters received after this deadline will not be considered in the counting of votes.

If you vote by post, it is your own responsibility to ensure that the postal ballot return letter arrives on time. Therefore, you should cast your vote as soon as you receive the postal ballot documents and send the postal ballot return letter without delay to the address indicated on the envelope or hand it in at that address.

Postal ballot return letters can be posted free of charge within the Federal Republic of Germany.

Sufficient postage must be affixed to letters posted from abroad. In that case the voter must bear the costs.

If you want to vote in a polling district other than "your" designated polling district on election day, you must have applied for a polling card in time. With this polling card, you can go to any polling district in your constituency. Once the electoral board at that polling station has checked your polling card, you will be given a ballot paper and may cast your vote. The electoral board keeps the polling card.

It is not possible to vote in a polling district outside one's "own" constituency.

The result of the postal ballot is determined by postal ballot boards within the constituency. After the poll (after 6 p.m. on election day), they count the votes of the postal ballot documents which have been received and checked by then.

The results of the postal ballot are already included in the provisional result.

The provisions of the Federal Elections Act and the Federal Electoral Regulations which pertain to the postal ballot ensure that the secrecy of the vote is guaranteed at all times. The following chart shows how the postal ballot return letters are handled in accordance with the legal provisions: