All Voting Options in the 2026 Berlin Election

 

All Voting Options in the 2026 Berlin Election

Eligible voters can make up to three separate choices. The exact names on the ballot depend on the voter’s constituency and district.

1. First vote: a local candidate

The Erststimme elects one person to represent the voter’s local constituency in the Berlin House of Representatives.

Berlin is divided into 78 constituencies, each with its own candidates. These candidates may represent political parties or run as independents. The candidate receiving the most first votes in that constituency wins the direct mandate.

This is why there is no single list of candidates for each of Berlin’s 12 districts: every district contains several smaller constituencies.

2. Second vote: a political party

The Zweitstimme is cast for a party list. This is the decisive vote for determining how many seats each party receives in the Berlin House of Representatives.

A total of 17 parties are participating through state or district lists:

• CDU – Christian Democratic Union

• SPD – Social Democratic Party

• Bündnis 90/Die Grünen – The Greens

• Die Linke – The Left

• AfD – Alternative for Germany

• FDP – Free Democratic Party

• Tierschutzpartei – Animal Protection Party

• Die PARTEI – a political party combining satire with political positions

• Volt – a pro-European, socially liberal party

• Die Urbane. – a party originating in Berlin’s hip-hop and anti-discrimination movement

• DKP – German Communist Party

• ÖDP – Ecological Democratic Party

• Die Heimat – the former NPD

• B* – an anti-capitalist and environmental political group

• SGP – Socialist Equality Party

• BSW – Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance

• PdF – Party of Progress

Not every party necessarily appears in exactly the same form on every ballot. Twelve parties are running with Berlin-wide lists, while five use district lists.

Neutral profiles of all 17 parties are available from the Federal Agency for Civic Education.

3. Third vote: the district assembly

The third vote elects the local Bezirksverordnetenversammlung, or BVV.

For this election, voters choose a party or local electoral group rather than an individual district-mayor candidate. The composition of the BVV determines which political groups influence local decisions involving schools, parks, streets, construction, neighbourhood planning and district services.

After the election, the members of the BVV elect the district mayor and the other members of the district authority.

The available BVV lists differ between Berlin’s 12 districts, so there is no single citywide BVV ballot.

Can voters divide their votes?

Yes. A voter can support three different political choices—for example:

• a local candidate from one party with the first vote;

• another party with the second vote;

• a different party or electoral group in the BVV election.

The votes do not have to go to the same party. A voter may also leave one section blank while using the others; the properly completed votes can remain valid.