Persons entitled to vote who do not have a place of residence will be entered in a voters’ register only if they apply for it. The responsibility for entering Germans eligible to vote in the voters’ register who, without having an abode of their own, usually stay in the electoral area lies with the municipality where the person entitled to vote files his/her application. The application has to be filed by the 21st day before the election at the latest. The persons entitled to vote have to be kept in the voters’ register of the municipality until election day. A person without a permanent residence who has been entered in the voters’ register may vote also by postal ballot like any other person eligible to vote.
Legal bases
Bundestag election: Section 16 (2) no. 1 (b), Section 17 (2) no. 2, Section 18 of the Federal
Electoral Regulations (BWO)
European election: Section 15 (2) no. 1 (b), Section 16 (2) no. 2, Section 17 of
the European Electoral Regulations (EuWO)
