Right to vote for foreigners

Have you been wondering whether you are able to vote in German elections, and if not, then how can you gain the right to vote?

In 1989 several parts of Germany passed various legislation to allow some groups of foreign residents to vote. However, all of these actions were struck down by constitutional court in 1990. In 1999 Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz created new draft legislation to allow non-EU citizens the right to vote in communal elections.

However, to allow foreigners with unrestricted residency status the right to vote would require a change in the Grundgesetz (constitution). This would require a two thirds majority yeah vote. It appears as though this issue will be resolved after the Bundestag (lower house of parliament) decides on the planned changes to citizenship laws. Then we will see at what level one will be allowed to vote.

Today approximately 1.2 million residents with EU citizenship are allowed to vote in communal elections. There are some EU countries where non-EU citizens are allowed to vote in communal elections. From what I understand, EU-citizens are allowed to vote in local elections if they are permanent residents.

At the EU level, there are efforts to have Germany allow full local election rights to EU-citizens. According to recently published National Integration Plan, the introduction of communal voting rights of non-EU citizens is currently being examined.