Active voting right

President of the Federal Government of Austria (Bundespräsident)

The head of the state of Austria is elected every 6 years. To vote, you need to hold Austrian citizenship and to be at least 16 years of age. People with legal conviction are excluded from suffrage. Once you have registered your address in Austria, the competent authorities will send you a document with information on the elections by post. The document establishes where your voting poll is and which document you need to bring with you. You can obtain more information here (in German): www.help.gv.at/Portal.Node/hlpd/public/content/32/Seite.320000.html

National council (Nationalrat)

The assembly of representative is elected every 5 years. You can vote if you have Austrian citizenship and at least 16 years of age. People with legal conviction are excluded from suffrage. Once you have registered your address in Austria, the competent authorities will send you a document with information on the elections by post. The document establishes where your voting poll is and which document you need to bring with you. You can obtain more information here (in German): www.help.gv.at/Portal.Node/hlpd/public/content/32/Seite.320000.html

Parliament (Landtag) of the Federal State

It’s elected every 5 years. You can vote if you have Austrian citizenship and at least 16 years of age. People with legal conviction are excluded from suffrage. Once you have registered your address in Austria, the competent authorities will send you a document with information on the elections by post. The document establishes where your voting poll is and which document you need to bring with you. You can obtain more information here (in German): www.help.gv.at/Portal.Node/hlpd/public/content/32/Seite.320000.html

Town/city council and mayor (Gemeinderat & Bürgermeister)

They are elected every 5 years in Lower Austria, Salzburg, Vorarlberg, Styria and Burgenland; and every 6 years in Carinthia, Tirol and Upper Austria. To vote, you need to hold Austrian citizenship and to be at least 16 years of age. People with legal conviction are excluded from suffrage. Once you have registered your address in Austria, the competent authorities will send you a document with information on the elections by post. The document establishes where your voting poll is and which document you need to bring with you. You can obtain more information here (in German): www.help.gv.at/Portal.Node/hlpd/public/content/32/Seite.320000.html

Elections in Vienna (Viennaer Wahlen).

The mayor, the representatives of the city council (equivalent to a parliament in the rest of the Federal States) and representative of the district are elected every 5 years. You can vote if you have Austrian citizenship and at least 16 years of age with main residence in Vienna. People with legal conviction are excluded from suffrage. If you have EU citizenship, you can participate in the elections of the representative of the district but not in the elections of the municipality. Once you have registered your address in Austria, the competent authorities will send you a document with information on the elections by post. The document establishes where your voting poll is and which document you need to bring with you. You can obtain more information here (in German): www.help.gv.at/Portal.Node/hlpd/public/content/32/Seite.320000.html

European Elections

Representatives of the European Parliament are elected every 5 years. If you’re EU citizens with main residence in Austria and at least 16 years of age, you can vote for an Austrian representative or for a representative of the country of origin. Once you have registered your address in Austria, the competent authorities will send you a document with information on the elections by post. The document establishes where your voting poll is and which document you need to bring with you. You can obtain more information here (in German): www.help.gv.at/Portal.Node/hlpd/public/content/32/Seite.320000.html

National referendum, popular surveys and European citizens’ initiative

In a No/Yes referendum, the outcome is not always legally binding. You can vote if you have Austrian citizenship and at least 16 years of age. People with legal conviction are excluded from suffrage. Once you have registered your address in Austria, the competent authorities will send you a document with information on the elections by post. The document establishes where your voting poll is and which document you need to bring with you. You can obtain more information here (in German): www.help.gv.at/Portal.Node/hlpd/public/content/32/Seite.320000.html