Roderich Egeler
President of the Federal Statistical Office
Press release July 27, 2009
2009 Bundestag Election: Germans living abroad must file an application
WIESBADEN – As reported by the Federal Returning Officer, Germans living abroad will be permitted to vote in the Bundestag election on 27 September 2009 provided that they meet the legally requirements for voting and submit an application for entry in a register of voters. Germans who still have a registered place of residence in Germany need only file a request for postal ballot documents. Both kinds of applications can even now be submitted to the municipal authorities. Some embassies and consulates of the Federal Republic of Germany offer a forwarding service for postal ballot documents. German citizens living abroad should directly contact the relevant mission abroad to obtain detailed information.
The exclusion from the right to vote of German citizens residing outside the Member States of the Council of Europe who had departed from the Federal Republic of Germany more than 25 years ago, which was still in force for the last Bundestag election, has been deleted.
Germans living abroad and wishing to cast their vote in the 2009 election to the German Bundestag must meet specific conditions, which depend on whether those persons still have a registered place of residence in Germany.
1. Germans permanently residing abroad
Germans permanently residing abroad and no longer having a place of residence in Germany who wish to cast their vote in the 2009 Bundestag election in Germany must apply in writing, using a specific form, for entry in the register of voters of their last home municipality in Germany. The application must have been received by the competent municipal authority by 6 September 2009 at the latest and should therefore be sent as early as possible.
The application form for entry in a register of voters for the 2009 Bundestag election may be downloaded as a PDF file from the website of the Federal Returning Officer at
www.bundeswahlleiter.de --> 2009 Bundestag Election --> “Service for Germans living abroad”,
and is available as a paper form
– from all embassies and consulates of the Federal Republic of Germany,
– from the Federal Returning Officer at the following address:
Datenerfassung für den Bundeswahlleiter,
Statistisches Bundesamt, Zweigstelle Bonn,
Postfach 17 03 77, 53029 Bonn
tel: 49(0)611/75 85 18
fax: 49(0)611/75 89 88
contact: www.destatis.de/contact
or
– from all constituency and town returning officers in Germany.
Together with their own application forms, applicants may obtain forms for family members, friends or colleagues. Firms and associations may request delivery of the required number of application forms for their staff abroad.
After German citizens living abroad have been entered in the register of voters, they will be provided with the documents required for postal vote (polling card, ballot paper, voting envelope, ballot letter envelope, and sheet of notes for postal voters) without further request but not earlier than one month before election day. The completed postal ballot documents must have been returned to the authority indicated on the ballot letter envelope by election day, the 27 September 2009, by the end of the voting hours at 6 p.m. at the latest. Ballot letters received later than that will not be taken into account.
2. Germans residing in Germany and temporarily staying abroad
Germans who temporarily stay abroad but continue to be registered in Germany will ex officio be entered in the register of voters of their municipality and may cast their vote in the 2009 Bundestag election by postal ballot. They may even now request in writing (also by fax or e-mail) or orally that the municipal authority issue a polling card. The request may however not be submitted by telephone. The request for postal ballot may also be submitted by completing the polling card application which is printed on the reverse side of the voter’s notification. Anyone filing the request on behalf of another person must submit a relevant written proxy.
For further information please contact: Karina Schorn,
tel: (+49-611) 75-2317,
e-mail: bundeswahlleiter@destatis.de