Exercise of electoral rights for Germans living abroad
Berlin: Federal cabinet approves draft law
Berlin: The German federal cabinet has approved a draft law to amend the Federal Electoral Act. This will make it easier for Germans living abroad to exercise their electoral rights.
The key points of the draft law are:
- The minimum period of residence abroad for postal voting will be reduced from 25 to 10 years.
- Those who have been resident abroad for more than 25 years will be able to apply for permanent postal voting.
- Those who have been resident abroad for more than 10 years will be able to apply for a postal vote for a specific election.
- The deadline for submitting postal vote applications will be extended to three weeks before the election.
- The number of ballot boxes at German missions abroad will be increased.
The draft law will now be submitted to the Bundestag for debate.
The changes are intended to make it easier for Germans living abroad to participate in the democratic process. In the 2021 federal election, only around 13% of Germans living abroad cast their votes.
The federal government estimates that around 2.8 million Germans live abroad. The majority of them live in European countries, but there are also significant communities in the Americas, Asia and Africa.
The draft law is supported by the opposition parties in the Bundestag. However, there is some criticism from the electoral authorities, who argue that the changes will increase the risk of electoral fraud.
The federal government has said that it will take all necessary measures to prevent electoral fraud.
The draft law is expected to come into force in time for the next federal election, which is scheduled for 2025.
Ausübung des Wahlrechts für im Ausland lebende Deutsche
The AI has provided us with the news.
I’ve asked Google Gemini the following question, and here’s its response.
Kurzmeldungen (hib) a new article on 2024-11-18 10:32 titled “Ausübung des Wahlrechts für im Ausland lebende Deutsche”. Please write a detailed article on this news item, including any relevant information. Answers should be in English.
73