Chapter 3 of 7

How does voting work?

One vote for the BVV, two votes for the House of Representatives, and several ways to cast them.

In the BVV election each voter has one vote. In the election to the House of Representatives each voter has two.

One vote for the BVV

Parties and voter groups stand for the BVV with district-wide lists on which the order of candidates is already fixed. Your single vote goes to one of those lists.

Two votes for the House of Representatives

Two kinds of candidacy exist here: individual candidates, including independents, stand in the 78 constituencies (Wahlkreise); and parties stand with district-wide or Berlin-wide lists in a fixed order.

• Your first vote (Erststimme) goes to a candidate standing in your constituency.
• Your second vote (Zweitstimme) goes to a district or state list of a party.

The candidate you choose with your first vote does not have to belong to the party you choose with your second.

There are several ways to vote

• 10 to 30 August 2026: your polling notification arrives by post.
• Postal vote: apply, receive the documents, and return them as early as possible. The red postal envelope must reach the Bezirk’s electoral office named on it by 6 pm on 20 September 2026 to be counted.
• Postal-voting centre: you can also vote in person at your Bezirk’s postal-voting office; bring your passport or ID card.
• Election day: vote at your polling station on Sunday 20 September 2026.

Don’t worry. Every vote counts

Plans at the seaside on 20 September?

Apply for a postal vote in good time; your polling notification explains how.

Lost the polling notification?

Not a problem. Bring your ID card or passport to the polling station; you need it anyway.

Rather sleep in on Sunday?

Polling stations are open from 8 am to 6 pm. If that is still too early, vote by post in advance.

Polling station? No idea where mine is.

From 10 August you can look it up at berlin.de/wahlen.

No idea who to vote for?

From about 24 August the Wahl-O-Mat for the House election shows which party comes closest to your views. Read manifestos, follow the media, go to events, talk to candidates at information stands.

Your party will not win anyway?

Nobody can know that before the election. And in a democracy a strong opposition matters too.

Posting online how you voted?

Friends and strangers are welcome to know. But no selfies in the booth and no photos of the ballot paper; that is not allowed inside the polling station.

Turnout in 2023 and 2016