Federal election

Election information

Elections to the Bundestag are held in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Election Act (BWG) and the Federal Electoral Regulations (BWO). The electoral term is 4 years.

The candidates and parties standing for election in constituency 190 "Jena-Sömmerda-Weimarer Land I" will be announced here as soon as they have been confirmed by the competent bodies.

You can vote either at the polling station or by post. You can apply for(link is external) postal voting documents online(link is external) as soon as the necessary requirements have been met.

Eligibility to vote

In principle, all Germans within the meaning of the Basic Law who have reached the age of 18 on election day are entitled to vote:

• have reached the age of 18 (born on 23.02.2007 or earlier)
• have lived or otherwise habitually resided in the electoral territory of the Federal Republic of Germany since at least 23.11.2024 and
• are not excluded from the right to vote (by a judge's decision)

The right to vote may only be exercised once and in person.

Division of constituencies for the 2025 Bundestag election

Together with Sömmerda and Weimarer Land I, the city of Jena forms Bundestag constituency 190, which in turn is subdivided into individual constituencies. In Jena, these are 97 polling districts and 40 postal voting districts.

Voters' register

Registration ex officio

You can only exercise your right to vote in the municipality in which you are entered in the electoral roll. All eligible voters who are registered with their sole or main residence in Jena on the 42nd day before the election are officially entered in the electoral roll of the city of Jena and receive a voter's notification.

Homeless people

Eligible voters who reside in Jena without owning an apartment must apply for entry in the voters' register by 02.02.2025 if they wish to take part in the Bundestag election.

Moving within Jena after 12.01.2025

Eligible voters who move within Jena after 12.01.2025 remain on the electoral roll of the constituency for which they were registered on 12.01.2025. If you are unable to vote in your previous polling station on election day, please apply for a polling card with postal voting documents in good time.

Moving to Jena after 12.01.2025

Eligible voters who have moved to Jena from another municipality within Germany and register their main residence in Jena in the period 13.01.2025 - 02.02.2025 are entered in the electoral roll of their municipality of departure. They remain registered there so that they can vote in their former polling station on election day. You can also obtain a polling card with postal voting documents from your former electoral authority. Upon request, you will be entered in the electoral roll of the city of Jena during this period and deleted from the electoral roll of your former municipality.

This regulation also applies if you register your secondary residence in Jena as your main residence after 12.01.2025 or if you move into another apartment in Jena that becomes your main residence.

After 02.02.2025 (cut-off date), it is generally no longer possible to apply to be entered in the electoral roll.

Moving from abroad (registration after 12.01.2025 - 02.02.2025)

If you have not previously lived in Germany and have not been entered in a voters' register from abroad, you can apply in writing to the electoral authority of the city of Jena for entry in the voters' register of the city of Jena by 02.02.2025. Please contact the electoral authority of the city of Jena to clarify your eligibility to vote.

Germans living abroad

Germans living abroad who are not registered in Germany are also referred to as Germans living abroad. They are not officially entered in a voters' register. If Germans living abroad wish to vote in Bundestag elections, they must submit a written application for entry in the voters' register of the relevant municipality before each election. For Germans not resident in the Federal Republic of Germany, the municipality in which they were last registered before moving away is responsible. The application must be signed personally and by hand by the applicant and can be sent to the municipality in the original or as a scan by email.

The application for entry in the electoral roll must be received by the responsible municipality in Germany no later than the 21st day before the election, 02.02.2025. The deadline cannot be extended. If you were registered in Jena before you moved away, please send your application for inclusion in the voters' register (Annex 2 of the Federal Electoral Regulations) to the electoral authority.

Further information on this topic and the application form can be found on the website of the Federal Returning Officer: Information for Germans living abroad and Application for entry in the voters' register - The Federal Returning Officer.(link is external)

Voter notification

Anyone who has been entered in the voters' register will receive a polling card. It is expected to be sent by post from 20.01.2025 until the 21st day before the election at the latest (02.02.2025). The polling card has two functions:

Together with your identity card or passport, it serves as proof of eligibility to vote when you go to vote in your polling station on election Sunday. You must therefore take the letter with you. Your polling station is named in the election notification letter. If you do not go to your polling station on election Sunday, you can use the data from the election notification letter to apply for postal voting, also online.

How to apply for postal voting documents

• Online applications for postal voting documents(link is external) are expected to start from 20.01.2025 and end on Wednesday, 19.02.2025, 12:00 noon before the election date, as documents applied for later would probably not reach you in time. This also applies to applications by informal e-mail.
• written application / personal visit: On the back of the election notification letter you will find an application form for postal voting documents. Please use this form if you wish to apply for your postal voting documents by post, fax or in person.
• In the event of proven sudden illness, postal voting documents can also be collected on election Sunday from 08:00 to 15:00. To do this, please go to Am Anger 28, 07743 Jena (proxy).
• Applications by telephone are not permitted.

• The deadline for applying for postal voting documents online(link is external) is expected to begin on 20.01.2025 and end on the Wednesday before the election date, on 19.02.2025, 12:00 noon.
• The election letter must be returned to the electoral authority of the City of Jena by 18:00 on election day; postal delivery times must be observed.

• Federal Election Act
• Federal Electoral Regulations