Federal election 2025: Everything you need to know about postal voting and the like

The federal election management in Wiesbaden announced: “All eligible voters entered in the voters’ register will receive an election notification from their municipality by February 2, 2025 at the latest.” All citizens who were registered with their municipality as their main residence on January 12th, the 42nd day before the election, are registered in the voters’ register.

The election notifications also indicate the respective polling station for voters on February 23rd. Anyone who has not received an election notification by February 2nd should immediately contact the election office at their main residence to have it verified.

41 parties can take part. As the Federal Returning Officer announced, this was decided by the Federal Election Committee. This means that fewer parties were admitted than in the last election in 2021. For most parties, however, there is another hurdle to participation.

In 2021, the Federal Election Committee initially approved 53 parties in principle. If they are not already represented in the Bundestag or in a state parliament with five representatives, then as now they must fulfill another condition: they must collect support signatures for their specific election proposals. Not everyone managed to do this in 2021. That’s why only 47 parties ultimately stood for election.

For the 2025 federal election, the election committee determined that ten parties do not need signature lists because they are already represented in sufficient numbers in the federal or state parliaments. As a party of a national minority, the South Schleswig Voters’ Association (SSW) does not have to do this either. Because of this status, the five percent hurdle for entering the Bundestag does not apply to him.

The Foreign Office assumes that three to four million Germans abroad are eligible to vote in the early federal elections. Since there is no obligation to report abroad, these figures can only be estimated, said a spokesman. In the most recent federal election in 2021, 130,000 Germans entered the voter register abroad. The Foreign Office calls on Germans abroad to register as quickly as possible and to ensure that the documents are sent in exchange with their home community.

According to the Foreign Office, some voters may find it difficult to take part in the election on February 23rd this time. It is possible that postal voting documents will not arrive on time or will not be back in Germany in time, said the spokesman. “We are of course looking at what we can do to support,” he added.

Despite the tight deadline for the early federal election, the federal states expect to have enough election workers. This was the result of a survey by the Editorial Network Germany (RND). A spokesman for Federal Returning Officer Ruth Brand told the RND that she assumes that “sufficient volunteer election workers will be recruited.”

The general manager of the German Association of Cities and Municipalities, André Berghegger, also assumes that, despite the shortened deadlines, enough helpers will take part in the election, as he told the RND newspapers. “Despite the current exceptional situation, including shortened deadlines, numerous election workers will make their commitment and time available.”

According to the report, around 675,000 election workers took part in the European elections last June in Germany.

In a recent survey, the Green Party’s leading candidate Robert Habeck has drawn level with the Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz (CDU). When asked who of the four candidates for chancellor they would most like to see as Federal Chancellor, 27 percent (+2) of those surveyed in the current ZDF “Politbarometer” voted for Habeck, and 27 percent also voted for Merz (-2). .

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) gets 14 percent (-2), putting him behind AfD candidate Alice Weidel (15 percent, -1). The remaining respondents answered “don’t know.”

According to the survey, if there were a federal election on Sunday, the Union would get 30 percent (-1). The AfD would improve to 21 percent (+2). The Greens are with 15 percent (+1) ahead of the SPD with 14 percent (-1). The FDP would get 4 percent (+1), as would the Left (unchanged). The BSW would also be 4 percent (-1). All three parties would fail at the five percent hurdle and could miss out on entering parliament. Other smaller parties received a combined 8 percent (-1), although none of them received at least 3 percent.

The survey was conducted between January 7th and 9th from 1,433 randomly selected eligible voters by telephone and online. It is representative of the population eligible to vote in Germany.

Sources: , with news agencies