Voting—but the right way

On 9 June, the new European Parliament and, in Baden-Württemberg, the new municipal and district councils will be elected. The correct way to vote differs depending on the election.
Polling station or postal vote
In all elections, you can vote in person at a polling station or apply for a postal vote to cast your ballot by post. In both cases, you will need a polling card. This shows where the polling station is located for voting on 9 June. You can apply for a ballot paper for postal voting on the reverse. This can also be done online, in person or by e-mail to the respective municipality. No special reasons need to be given. Important: The election is secret. You do not have to tell anyone who you have voted for. In addition, nobody is allowed to watch or have a say—not even when voting by post. Anyone who has not yet received a polling card can ask the electoral office (in Tübingen: 07071 204-1600 or wahlen@tuebingen.de) whether they are on the electoral register.
Ballot papers
The ballot papers for the local elections—i.e. municipal council, district council and local council – will be sent to voters’ homes from 23 May. They can therefore be filled in and brought to the polling station. For postal votes, they will also be sent by post together with other documents. The ballot paper for the European elections, on the other hand, is only available at the polling station—or in the postal voting documents. At the polling station, the completed ballot papers are then placed in a ballot paper envelope in the polling booth. Before this envelope is inserted, the electoral board checks the polling card and ID.
European election
In the European elections, every voter has exactly one vote—so only one cross is allowed on the ballot paper. In Germany, 35 parties and groups are authorised to vote in the European elections. A total of 720 MEPs will be elected across the EU, 96 of whom come from Germany. National parties are elected. However, the MEPs then join the transnational groupings.

Symbolbild Wahlen. Foto: tuenews INTERNATIONAL / Linda Kreuzer.

Local elections

There are many ballot papers and even more candidates for the local elections. It is therefore not easy to keep track of everything. The local councils in Baden-Württemberg have between 8 and 60 members—in Tübingen there are 40. In the local council elections, eligible voters have as many votes as there are local councillors to be elected in a town or village. Anyone who has decided in favour of a party can submit a ballot paper unchanged. However, there is also the option of transferring candidates from other lists. This is known as panelling. In addition, individual candidates may be given up to three votes. This is called cumulating. It is important that no more votes are cast at the end than are permitted. Otherwise the ballot paper is invalid. The State Centre for Political Education provides good explanations on how to vote correctly:
https://www.kommunalwahl-bw.de/wie-wird-gewaehlt-kommunalwahl#c2974
District council elections work in a similar way. There are separate ballot papers for each group or party in the constituency—eight parties and groups are running in the Tübingen constituency. Twenty-two district councillors are elected. There are fewer in the other four constituencies in the district. Here, too, it is possible to give more votes to individual candidates or to transfer candidates from one list to another.

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Wahlkampf zur Kommunal- und Europawahl 2024. Foto: tuenews INTERNATIONAL / Oula Mahfouz.
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