Make sense of your ballot.

Four levels

The same street can belong to several elections at once. Each election has its own geography, ballot and polling assignment.

1. Bundestag

   You elect parliament, not the chancellor. Two votes, with second-vote coverage since 2025.

2. Hesse Landtag

   A constituency vote and a state-list vote. Not a copy of the federal ballot.

3. Frankfurt municipal

   As many votes as seats, with Kumulieren and Panaschieren.

4. European Parliament

   One vote for a closed list. It does not elect the Bundestag or the federal government.

Bundestag

On 23 February 2025 Germany elected the 21st Bundestag. Each voter had two votes. The first vote (Erststimme) chooses a candidate in one of 299 constituencies. The second vote (Zweitstimme) is cast for a party’s state list and drives how seats are allocated.

Since the 2023/2025 reform, winning a constituency is not enough for a party candidate. The seat must also be covered by the party’s second votes (Zweitstimmendeckung). In Frankfurt am Main II in 2025, no candidate received a direct seat under that rule.

A party normally needs 5% of second votes nationwide, or to finish first in at least three constituencies, to take part in seat allocation. The SSW is exempt as a minority party. Voters do not directly elect the Federal Chancellor, the Federal President, ministers or the Bundesrat.

The Bundestag elects the chancellor afterwards. A chancellor’s name does not have to appear on the ballot.

Hesse Landtag

Hesse elects its Landtag, normally for a five-year term. Voters choose both a constituency candidate and a state list.

The two votes are called Wahlkreisstimme and Landesstimme. The constituency boundaries and voting rules differ from those used in Bundestag elections.

Frankfurt municipal

On 15 March 2026 Frankfurt elected a 93-seat city council and 16 local advisory councils. In Hesse municipal elections each voter has as many votes as there are seats. Votes may be stacked on one person (Kumulieren) or spread across lists (Panaschieren). That is not a two-vote Bundestag ballot.

EU citizens can vote in municipal elections under the relevant rules. Turnout in the 2026 city-council election was 49.6% of 513,170 eligible voters.

European Parliament

In Germany’s European Parliament election, you cast one vote for a party list. The result determines Germany’s representatives in the European Parliament.

Wahlkreis, Wahlbezirk, Wahlraum

These three terms describe different parts of an election.

Wahlkreis

A constituency is the larger area in which candidates stand for election. Its boundaries depend on the election.

Wahlbezirk

The smaller district used to organise voting and counting. Municipalities draw these. They can change between elections.

Wahlraum / Wahllokal

The physical room. It is assigned per election through an address mapping. The nearest building may be the wrong room.

Your address can belong to several elections, each with its own constituency and polling place.