Who can apply for a postal vote?
In principle, all eligible voters who are entered in the electoral roll of the City of Offenburg can apply for postal voting.
Postal voting offers voters the opportunity to cast their vote without having to appear in person at a polling station. This is particularly advantageous for people who are unable to vote on election day, for example due to vacation, a semester abroad, work commitments or illness.
Anyone submitting the application on behalf of another person must prove that they are authorized to do so by submitting a written power of attorney. This does not mean that this person may also vote on behalf of the person entitled to vote. In this case, the person entitled to vote declares in lieu of an oath that the postal vote was also cast by secret ballot and that he/she cast the vote him/herself.
How and where can I apply for a postal vote?
If you wish to vote by postal ballot, you will need postal voting documents and the ballot paper they contain.
You can apply for these postal voting documents from the City of Offenburg in a variety of ways. Please refer to the section “Information on postal voting” for a selection of application options. All application options are also explained in detail there.
Information about postal voting
Note on postal voting:
The first ballot papers for the postal vote were delivered last Friday. The postal voting documents requested so far have all been processed and have all been sent out since the weekend. As of 8 a.m. today, 10,116 postal voting documents have been sent out for the Bundestag election.
All voting documents for German voters living abroad and voting documents to be sent abroad were handed over to the mail center for processing on time on Friday evening.
There are two online application options.
- Scanning the QR code as an application on the election notification
You can also access your polling card application quickly and easily using your mobile device via the QR code on the back of the election notification. Most of the data is already stored here – you only need to enter your date of birth (please make sure that you enter your year of birth with four digits) and possibly a different mailing address. Your application data will be transferred to our system in encrypted form.
or:
Please note the following before clicking on the link Online absentee ballot application.
You will need the electoral district and the voter number for this application. You will find these two details on your voter’s notification. It is therefore important that you have them to hand. Then click on the Online polling card application link above. In the next step, the form for entering and transferring your application data will open. Once your data has been entered, it will also be compared and automatically checked against the electoral roll of the city of Offenburg. If your application data does not match our dialogized electoral roll, you will automatically receive a message. In this case, please contact the electoral office. Please pay attention to certain spellings that are requested or shown in the registration form. The automatic comparison with our data can only be carried out if the entry is correct.
You can also specify a different shipping address when applying online.
Click here for the online postal vote application form
To apply for postal voting documents in writing, you only need to submit an informal written application for postal voting.
Simply use the application for a polling card on the back of your election notification. You can complete this form from the comfort of your own home and send it back to us or drop it in the letterbox at the Historic Town Hall, Hauptstraße 90, 77652 Offenburg.
As a recommendation from our side, please use this application form for a written application, as it contains all the data we need for the application and the comparison.
If you have not received your election notification and would still like to apply for postal voting documents, you can also apply for postal voting documents informally either in writing or by sending an email to wahlen@offenburg.de. In this case, we need the following data from you: Surname, first name, date of birth and home address (street, house number, zip code, town), if applicable, the address if the postal address is different.
Please send the written application to: Stadt Offenburg, Zentrale Dienste und Wahlen, Wahlbüro Hauptstraße 90, 77652 Offenburg.
From Monday, February 10, 2025 until Friday, February 21, 2025 3 p.m. (new legal regulation according to the Federal Election Regulations), you can also apply for and collect postal voting documents in person at the polling station in the BürgerBüro using the completed application on the back of your election notification. Please remember that an informal written application must always be enclosed when applying in person. Without this application, no postal voting documents can or may be issued. It is therefore always better to use the back of the election notification in this case.
The opening hours of the polling station in the Citizens’ Office can be found on the Polling Station page.
If you would like to apply for postal voting documents for other eligible voters, you will need their signed postal voting application (back of the election notification) – always separately for each eligible voter and each person entitled to vote.
Postal voting documents may only be handed out or delivered to eligible voters in person. An exception is only permitted if a written authorization to collect the documents – separately for each person entitled to vote and each person entitled to vote – is presented. This also applies to close relatives. The authorized person must identify themselves upon request. The power of attorney can also be found on the back of the voter’s notification. The power of attorney only applies to collecting and applying for postal voting documents, not to voting. Only the person entitled to vote may fill in the ballot paper and vote on the ballot paper themselves.
Example: If a person entitled to vote is abroad for a semester abroad and would like to apply for a postal vote. The person entitled to vote must submit the application to the city themselves using the above-mentioned options. The city administration checks the application and sends the postal voting documents to the address abroad so that the voter can vote.
In principle, it is also possible to participate in an election by postal vote from abroad. Depending on the election, there are different requirements, which are announced in good time before an election.
If you have any questions, please contact the electoral office.
For example, Germans living abroad can vote by post in Bundestag and European elections. Further information can be found on the Bundestag and European elections page.
Telephone or verbal applications without an informal written application are not permitted by law.
How do I vote by postal vote?
1. application for postal voting
In order to vote by postal vote, eligible voters must first apply for a postal vote. This can be done in different ways as described above.
2. receipt of the election documents
After the application for postal voting has been checked by the electoral office, eligible voters will receive the postal voting documents by post to the address provided. The postal voting documents will be processed and sent as soon as possible after receipt of your postal voting application. It is also possible to collect them at the polling station or to provide a different address.
The postal voting documents contain a ballot paper, the ballot papers for the relevant elections, the ballot paper envelope, the stamped return envelope and an information sheet on how to complete and bag the documents. Please pay attention to the description on the information sheet.
3. casting the vote
Eligible voters fill in the ballot paper in accordance with the instructions. This includes the selection of the desired candidates or parties. It is important to fill in the ballot paper correctly, as incorrect or invalid ballot papers may not be taken into account.
4. sign the ballot paper
The ballot paper, which is delivered together with the ballot paper, must be signed by the person entitled to vote. This serves as proof that the postal vote has been carried out correctly. Important: The ballot paper is not valid without a signature.
5. prepare the election letter
Voters must place the completed ballot paper and the signed ballot paper in the prepared ballot paper envelope. This envelope is already stamped. You do not need to seal anything else.
6. send the election letter
Eligible voters send the ballot letter with the documents to the relevant electoral office. The address is already pre-printed on the ballot paper envelope. The costs for sending the postal ballot letter are borne by the City of Offenburg.
Please do not miss the deadline for returning your postal ballot. Only postal ballot letters received at the town hall by 6 p.m. on election day will be counted. They should therefore be posted in the letterbox at the latest before it is emptied on Friday. If you are later, you can post your election letter in the letterbox at the Historic Town Hall, Hauptstraße 90, 77652 Offenburg, until 6 p.m. on election day. Other letterboxes of the city administration, e.g. in the districts, are not permitted as they will no longer be emptied. The polling assistants in the polling stations on election Sunday are not allowed to accept postal ballot letters.
However, you can also vote at any polling station in your respective constituency (depending on the election) using your polling card from the postal voting documents.