There are two state elections in May.
On May 6, 2022, around 2.317 million people in Schleswig-Holstein are entitled to vote.
Manon Priebe
editor.
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On May 15, 2022, around 13 million eligible voters in North Rhine-Westphalia will then be able to elect a new state parliament.
For the state parliament in Schleswig-Holstein, the five-percent hurdle (also known as the “lock-up clause”) applies.
Parties must get at least five percent of the second votes to enter parliament.
The only exception is the Südschleswigsche Wahlerverband (SSW), which represents the Danish minority in Schleswig-Holstein and is only running in the northern part and in the constituency of Pinneberg Nord, which is responsible for Heligoland.
16 parties apply with state lists, three more than in 2017. A total of 449 applicants are standing for election.
According to the state returning officer, only 36 percent are female.
Is the state parliament elected every four or every five years?
That depends: in 15 federal states, state elections are held every five years.
Only Bremen elects a new citizenship every four years, as the parliament is called there as well as in Hamburg.
In Berlin it is the House of Representatives.
However, this five or four-year cycle changes if new elections are held early.
At what age can you vote in a state election?
In all federal states, the election is general, direct, free, equal and secret.
General means that everyone who has German citizenship can vote.
But: You must be resident in the respective federal state and be at least 18 years old.
Exceptions are Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.
In these countries, the voting age for state elections is 16.
All persons who are entitled to vote are on the electoral roll.
Eligible voters can apply for a polling card to vote by post.
What is elected in a state election?
In a state election, the parliament of the respective federal state is elected and it is decided who governs the state.
This also indirectly determines who gets a seat and a vote in the Bundesrat.
The majority in the state parliament determines the state government.
Why is the state election important?
Article 20 of the Basic Law states: "All state power emanates from the people." And that this state power is exercised, among other things, through "elections and votes".
The state government, elected by elections in the federal state, delegates the members of the Bundesrat from among its members (Article 51(1) of the Basic Law).
This means that only those who have a seat and vote in a state government can be a member of the Bundesrat.
The opposition of the respective federal state does not belong to the Bundesrat.
The state elections therefore also have a national political significance.
A state election only has an impact on the Bundesrat after the government has been formed, because the previous state government remains in office for the time being.
The composition of the Bundesrat will only change once the new state government has been sworn in.
So there is no central “Federal Council election”.
The composition of the “parliament of the state governments” changes after each state election.
The Bundesrat is therefore also called the “eternal body”.
Each federal state has at least three votes in the Bundesrat (Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saarland).
Federal states with more than two million inhabitants have four votes (Berlin, Brandenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia), with more than six million inhabitants five votes (Hesse) and states with more than seven million Residents have six votes (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia).
The Bundesrat thus has a total of 69 votes and 69 full members.
Where can I vote?
In all federal states, you can vote directly at the polling station or by postal vote.
The polling card states where the polling station is located.
Everyone who is entitled to vote will receive an election notification.
If you have lost or forgotten your voting card, you can still vote.
In the polling station, identity cards or passports are decisive.
Before the actual election day, you can vote by post or directly at the election office.
You can apply for postal voting documents online or on the back of the voting notification.
This is filled out and sent back to the electoral authority.
How many votes do you have in a state election?
In most federal states, voters have two votes (first and second vote).
They only have one vote in Baden-Württemberg and Saarland, five votes in the election of the citizenship in Bremen.
In Hamburg, the voters have ten votes.
This applies in Bremen, Hamburg and Saarland
proportional representation in multi-person constituencies.
In federal states with a first and second vote, there is personalized proportional representation.
With the first vote, the direct candidates from the constituencies are elected.
Because each constituency is to be represented in the state parliament, at least one member of parliament comes from each constituency.
The second vote decides how many seats the parties get in Parliament.
With the second vote, the citizens do not elect a single person, but the list of a party.
The people on the list are usually members of the party, but this is not a requirement.
The higher up the list, the better the chances of entering parliament.
Except for crosses, nothing may be noted on the ballot paper.
The ballot is void if it says otherwise or is not checked at all, or if the paper has been severely damaged.
If not all available votes are used - for example only the first vote is used, but the list for the second vote remains empty - the ballot paper is still valid.
How does Corona influence the upcoming state elections?
The current corona rules (the current Corona Protection Ordinance is valid until May 27, 2022) do not stipulate a mask requirement in polling stations.
As in all indoor spaces, it is recommended to wear an FFP-2 mask or a medical mask and to keep your distance when voting.
Wearing a mouth-and-nose cover to vote can be ordered via domiciliary rights, said the deputy state returning officer for Schleswig-Holstein, Maik Petersen.
Depending on the situation, the municipalities will take hygiene protection measures, such as regulating access to the polling station for many voters, marking walking routes, setting up transparent dividing walls between the electoral board and those eligible to vote, ventilation and disinfection.
If you want to be on the safe side, you can bring your own pen.
NRW's election officer Wolfgang Schellen emphasizes: "Please understand that protection against infection also plays a role in this election.
Nobody should let that stop them from going to the polling station!”
Do state elections and federal elections take place at the same time?
Only in ten cases were state parliament and federal parliament elected at the same time: in 1983, on the day of the federal election in Rhineland-Palatinate, there were state elections, also in 1990 in Berlin, in 1994 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in Saarland and in Thuringia, in 1998 and 2002 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in 2009 in Brandenburg and Schleswig-Holstein and in Hesse in 2013.
The state legislature must examine the merger of the two elections.
Because the formal equality of elections and equal opportunities must be given.
The most important question: who to choose?
We cannot, do not want to and must not answer this question for you.
The Wahl-O-Mat helps to compare the election programs of the parties with your own opinion.
All those eligible to vote in Schleswig-Holstein can use the Wahl-o-mat to find out which of the 16 parties they want to vote for in the state elections on May 8th based on 38 theses.
The Wahl-O-Mat is also available for the state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia on May 15, 2022.
When are the next state elections?
Only one further date for state elections has already been set.
In Lower Saxony, elections will take place on October 9, 2022.
It is not yet known when the state elections will take place in the other federal states.
The expected dates are:
Bremen: spring 2023,
Bavaria and Hesse: Autumn 2023,
Saxony: summer 2024,
Brandenburg and Thuringia: autumn 2024,
Hamburg: spring 2025,
Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate: spring 2026,
Saxony-Anhalt: summer 2026,
Berlin and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania: Autumn 2026,
Saarland: Spring 2027.