As of: March 28, 2024, 7:41 p.m
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The 2024 European elections are just around the corner in a few months. Find out who can and can't vote, and what's changing this year.
Strasbourg/Brussels - The European elections are just around the corner: between June 6th and 9th, 2024, all citizens of the member states of the European Union (EU) will have the opportunity to determine the composition of the European Parliament through a free, equal and secret election. The national parties of the respective member states stand for election and, depending on their share of the vote, are allowed to send representatives to the European Parliament from previously determined lists.
The names of the candidates who are in the first ten places on the lists can also be found on the ballot papers under the respective party name. Since the electoral process is quite complex - after all, the election will be held in parallel in all 27 EU member states - here is some basic information about who can vote in June 2024.
Around 66 million people in Germany are eligible to vote in the 2024 European elections
Around 350 million citizens of the European Union are entitled to vote, including around 66 million people in Germany. In order to be allowed to vote, you must generally be registered on a voters' register and have been resident in Germany or the European Union for at least three months. There must be no exclusion from the right to vote.
EU citizens living abroad, including civil servants and soldiers who have been posted abroad for a long period of time on official assignments, are also allowed to take part in the election. You can vote either where you live or in your country of origin. Citizens of other EU countries can also vote in Germany. It is important that each person is only allowed to cast one vote.
The Austrian parties are also getting ready for the 2024 European elections: a European flag in Vienna in front of the Austrian Parliament. © Imago/Sepa.Media
Anyone who has a registered place of residence in Germany is entered directly into the electoral roll of the relevant municipality in the usual way. Eligible voters who have not yet been registered on an electoral roll and or who have lived abroad for a longer period of time can do so up to the 21st day before the election
Submit an “application from a Union citizen for entry in the electoral roll”. In Germany the election will take place on June 9, 2024.
Germans and EU citizens who live abroad are also allowed to vote in the 2024 European elections
Germans who live abroad and are of legal age are also allowed to take part in the election. You just have to decide whether you want to vote in person at your place of residence or in Germany. In any case, Germans who live abroad but want to take part in the election in Germany in person or by postal vote must ensure that they are entered on a voters' register.
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People who have been disqualified from voting by a court ruling are not entitled to vote. Likewise, people who are under guardianship are not entitled to vote. People with physical or mental disabilities who require full care can assert their right to vote by submitting an application. This was decided by the Federal Constitutional Court in the run-up to the last European elections.
An innovation for the 2024 European elections in Germany: The minimum voting age has been reduced to 16 years
There is something new in Germany this year: for the first time, the voting age for the European elections was lowered nationwide to 16 years. In the last European elections in May 2019, around 5 million German first-time voters went to the polls, and this year there are likely to be even more due to the lower voting age. In three other EU states, namely Austria, Belgium and Malta, voting is also permitted from the age of 16 - in Greece from the age of 17.
The European Parliament is the largest transnational citizens' assembly of a unique association of states. Observers often refer to this as a
sui generis
organization
, based on a quote from former EU Commission President Jacques Delors. A high voter turnout in June 2024 is definitely desirable for this organization and its heart, Parliament.
Author Sonja Ruf wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at her own discretion. All information has been carefully checked. Find out more about our AI principles here.