Germans living abroad face significant challenges in exercising their right to vote in the upcoming German elections due to tight deadlines and complex procedures.
Germans Living Abroad Face a Race to Vote in Upcoming German Elections
Three to four million Germans living abroad are entitled to vote in the upcoming snap German elections on February 23. However, they face significant challenges in exercising their right to vote due to tight deadlines and complex procedures.
Tight Deadlines Mean Challenging Voting Process for Germans Abroad
Christian Wagner, spokesperson for German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, warns that tight deadlines mean even normal German parliamentary elections can be challenging in some countries. Depending on where they live, some Germans living abroad may not receive their ballot papers in time. In regular elections, German embassies and consulates abroad start preparing months before an election – now they have just a few weeks.
Registering to Vote: A Complex Process
Germans living abroad who want to vote must register on the electoral roll of one of the 299 constituencies in Germany. This is normally the person’s last place of residence in Germany. However, some countries handle this differently. For example, when Turkey held a run-off for the presidential elections in May 2023, around 1.5 million Turkish citizens in Germany were entitled to vote at 17 different locations, including consulates.
Voting System Lacks Provision for Voting at Embassies
In contrast, there is no provision for simply voting at an embassy in the Bundestag elections. However, it is now possible to simply send an email to the electoral district in Germany asking for the documents to be sent.
Only a Small Number of Germans Abroad Exercise Their Right to Vote
There are only rough estimates of how many people this actually affects. “There is no obligation to register abroad, so we can only estimate how many Germans are abroad, and how many of them are eligible to vote,” said Wagner. “We assume a total of three to four million.” Many more Germans live abroad, but not all are entitled to vote.
Exceptions to the Rules
As a rule, all Germans who have lived in Germany for at least three months without interruption after their 14th birthday are eligible to vote. However, there are exceptions: For example, the stay must not date back more than 25 years. In other words, Germans who have only been in Germany briefly from time to time, or those with a German passport who have never set foot in the Federal Republic, are not eligible to vote.
The Importance of Proving Personal Connection to Germany
The only exception to these rules are for people who are “for other reasons, personally and directly acquainted with the political circumstances in Germany and affected by them.” If they can prove it, of course. This might affect people who work in Germany or hold shares in German companies.
Low Voter Turnout Among Germans Abroad
It all sounds complicated, and it is – which is probably one of the reasons why only about 130,000 Germans living abroad out of three to four million eligible voters voted in the last Bundestag election in 2021. The majority of these lived in EU countries and other European states such as the UK or Turkey.
Seeking Support from German Embassies and Consulates
Time is running out for Germans abroad who want to apply. Wagner promises that the 154 or so German embassies around the world and the 50 or so general consulates will help: “We are of course looking at what we can do to provide support.” When it comes to delivering election documents, they have actually made it possible to use the official courier service.
Express Mail Services: A Quicker Option
In other words: If you wish, you can bring your completed voting documents to an embassy in a sealed envelope. From there, the German Foreign Office will organize transportation to Berlin or to the Bonn office. From there, it will be sent by post to the electoral constituencies, where it must be received by 6 p.m. on February 23 at the latest.
That also sounds complicated, which is why Wagner says: “Sometimes a commercial express mail delivery service is simply quicker.” In practice, then, the best way for Germans living abroad to exercise their right to vote is probably to get the documents sent from a constituency in Germany, fill them out and send them back immediately by express mail.
