Berlin Elections: Who Can Vote?

IMAGO / Mauersberger

The Berlin elections for both state and local governments is on September 20. If you’re new to Berlin or haven’t voted in Germany before, we’ve put together a guide to who can vote and how the process works. 

Who’s Eligible

German passport holders have full voting rights. They can cast their ballots for the Abgeordnetenhauswahl (state election) and the Bezirksverordnetenversammlung (BVV), (district assembly), as well as being eligible to stand for office themselves. They don’t need to register to vote and will receive important voting instructions by mail. They’re are automatically entered on the electoral register, provided they’ve been registered as residents for at least three months before election day and are above 16 years of age. This is the first time that 16- and 17-year-olds will be able to vote at state level. 

EU citizens living in Berlin are able to vote and stand for election on local level. Meaning, if you have an EU passport and are living in Berlin, you can vote for your BVV, or district assembly. The State Statistical Office estimates that around 250,000 EU citizens living in Berlin will be eligible to vote in local elections this year. This represents roughly nine per cent of the electorate and is a new record high for the city.

What to Expect

According to Berlin’s state election director or Landeswahlleiter, eligible EU citizens can expect their election materials delivered by post by August 30. The election materials include the address of an assigned polling station, opening hours, instructions on how to complete the ballot papers and information about postal, absentee and early voting.

Refugees or people with migrant history who are not eligible to vote in Berlin will have a chance to vote on the Landesbeirat für Partizipation (State Advisory Council for Participation) in late 2026. The date has not been specified yet. Although advisory boards don’t have formal decision-making powers, they do make recommendations to the government and ensure that the groups they represent can raise concerns within the political process.