First vote and second vote: This is how it works in the federal and state levels

In elections, the first vote and the second vote count.

• With the

  first

  vote, the voter elects a person who is to

  move

  into

  parliament

• With the

  second vote

  the voter casts his vote for a

  party

  from

• There are

  overhang mandates

  and

  compensation

  mandates

  at both

  federal

  and

  state level

Germany - In the

federal elections

, German citizens elect the new Bundestag every four years

in Berlin.

Each

voter

has two votes, which the

right to vote

calls the

“

first

vote

” and the “

second vote

”.

However, the terms are neither an order of importance nor any other logical sequence.

The main difference lies only in the

function of

the two votes, and this is easily explained: With the first vote, the voter elects a person directly to the Bundestag.

With the second vote, he elects a

party

that he would like to see represented in the Bundestag.

Depending on the percentage, there is a number of

mandates

that each party is entitled to.

These mandates are also called

proportional mandates

.

Outside of the

federal elections

, the use of

first

and

second votes is

also common in some

state elections

in Germany.

In their functions in the respective

elections

, they remain largely unchanged.

In elections in Germany, the first vote and the second vote have different functions

The main function of the

first

vote

is to

personalize

the

elections

.

With the first vote, the voter can choose a candidate from his constituency who applies for a direct mandate for the Bundestag.

This candidate is elected with a

relative majority

.

This means that whoever

gets

the most votes within a constituency gets the

mandate

.

In the

event of

a tie, the

regional

returning officer draws

a lot that decides on the winner of the constituency.

In some federal states, the first

vote

in

state elections is

officially called the

constituency vote

.

These federal states belong

• Hamburg

• Hesse

• Rhineland-Palatinate

• Thuringia

In Saxony, however, it is called

direct voice

.

In elections in Germany, one party is cast by the second vote

For the distribution of seats in

Parliament

which is

second vote

more significant than the

first vote

.

With the second vote, the voter casts his vote for a

party

.

Parties that have received at least five percent of the valid second votes may move into the Bundestag or the Landtag.

How many seats they are entitled to can be determined based on the percentage of votes that the party received in the

elections

.

The candidates who are eligible for entry into the Bundestag are on the so-called state list of parties.

The elections decide on the distribution of seats in the Bundestag

First, the victorious

direct candidates of

a

party

receive

their

mandates

in a federal state.

A possible negative difference between

direct mandates

and

proportional representation

is

compensated

by the

country list

.

One after the other, the candidates on the state list are given a seat in the Bundestag until the remaining proportional representation mandates have been awarded.

If, however, a

party

receives

more

direct mandates

than

proportional

mandates

in the

elections

, the number of

Bundestag

seats of

this party increases by the number of additional successful candidates.

These seats are called "

overhang mandates"

.

According to this procedure, the

Bundestag

increases by the number of seats won.

If a

member of parliament

, who won his seat by an overhang mandate, its

mandate

down, his seat remains vacant.

So he cannot be assigned a

list candidate from the

same party.

So that the

overhang mandates

gained would

not represent an advantage over the other parties,

so-called

compensation

mandates

were introduced after the

elections

in 2013

.

Compensation mandates are given to the other parties until the percentage ratio that results from the votes of the people is restored.

In the case of national elections, the allocation of seats is regulated differently

The

allocation of seats

in the state parliaments takes place according to different procedures. If a

party

wins

more

direct mandates

than

proportional

mandates

after the

elections

, it also receives

overhang mandates

in some federal states

. The distribution of

compensatory seats

at

the country level

, however, differs from

state

to state. The same number of compensation mandates is not always awarded, and in some

federal states

the distribution of compensation mandates is even capped, so that the original

electoral

relationship can

still be

distorted

.