Federal election

Pursuant to Section 12 of the Federal Elections Act, citizens are entitled to vote in Bundestag elections if they

• are Germans within the meaning of Article 116 (1) of the Basic Law on election day
• have reached the age of 18
• have lived in the Federal Republic of Germany for at least three months prior to the election or otherwise habitually reside there
• are not excluded from the right to vote under § 13 of the Federal Elections Act

If these requirements are met, Germans who live outside the Federal Republic of Germany on election day, so-called foreign Germans, are also entitled to vote.

Information for Germans living abroad on the website of the Federal Returning Officer

Germans living abroad should send their application for entry in the electoral roll as soon as possible.

Please note that the legislator makes a distinction in the application process as to whether the applicant

a) have lived in the Federal Republic of Germany for at least 3 months without interruption after reaching the age of 14

or otherwise habitually resided in the country and this residence was no longer than 25 years ago

or

b) for other reasons, personal and direct familiarity with the political situation in the Federal Republic of Germany

Germany and is affected by them.

Please use

• in case constellation a) the application form "Annex 2". Submission by e-mail (wahlen@beckum.de) or fax (02521 2955-3399) is possible in this case.
• for case constellation b) the application form "Annex 2a". Please also enclose a separate sheet with a statement of reasons and any additional documents. As you are submitting an affidavit on the application, it can only be submitted in the original and sent by post.

Germans who are only staying abroad temporarily and are registered on the electoral roll can vote by post.

You can vote in the Bundestag election in three ways:

• Ballot box voting: You cast your vote in person on election day (23 February 2025) between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. in the polling station of your electoral district. All polling stations in the polling districts are barrier-free.
• Postal vote: You cast your vote by post. You will only receive your postal voting documents upon request.
• Direct voting: With this special form of postal voting, you can vote in person at the postal voting offices before the election, from 10 to 21 February 2025.

Eligible voters who are entered in a voters' register can exercise their right to vote by postal vote without a special reason. This is also possible if they are temporarily abroad or outside the city of Beckum. To do so, they must apply for a so-called polling card from the municipality of their main place of residence. No justification is required.

Postal voting documents are automatically enclosed with the polling card.

Alternatively, with a polling card you can also vote in any other constituency in this electoral district.

Applications for postal voting documents can be made to the City of Beckum in the following ways:

• In person at the VHS-Beckum or at Neubeckum Town Hall
• In writing by sending the application on the back of the election notification card
• In writing by informal application with first name, surname, date of birth and address by e-mail to buergerbuero@beckum.de
• Online via the following link: Postal vote

It is not possible to apply by telephone!

The election notifications will be sent by post from 20 January 2025 to 23 January 2025.

The German Bundestag is elected according to the principles of proportional representation combined with personalised voting. This is also known as personalised proportional representation.

The voter has two votes:

The first vote is used to elect a person in the constituency. The first vote is cast on the left-hand side of the ballot paper. From the 2025 Bundestag election onwards, a party candidate will win a constituency seat if he or she has received the most first votes in the constituency and this seat is also covered by second votes (so-called second vote cover). An individual candidate receives a constituency seat if he or she receives the most votes.

The second vote, which is cast on the right-hand side of the ballot paper, is used to elect a party's state list. The number of second votes determines how many seats a party receives in the Bundestag (proportional representation) and is therefore the decisive factor. The introduction of the second vote cover for the 2025 Bundestag election has made the second vote even more important.

A new electoral law came into force in June 2023. Like the previous electoral law, it has the basic character of proportional representation. The aim of the change is to reduce the size of the German Bundestag and make its size more predictable.

Further information on the procedure for allocating mandates

We will provide you with further information on the Bundestag elections on an ongoing basis. You can also find more on the websites of the Federal Returning Officer and the German Bundestag.

Information from the Federal Returning Officer

German Bundestag - Bundestag election 2025

Results for Beckum

Homepage of the Federal Returning Officer with final overall results

The two videos explain how to vote in the Bundestag elections.

Video on the Bundestag election in plain language.

Video with sign language

If you have any questions, please call us on 02521 / 29-3301 or send an email to wahlen@beckum.de