The Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) has declared the electoral law reform passed in March 2023 to be largely constitutional (case reference: 2BvF 1/23 of 30 July 2024). The aim of the reform is to reduce the size of the Bundestag from the current 736 to 630 MPs. This is to be achieved via the second vote cover procedure, according to which a constituency winner can only receive a seat in the Bundestag if their party has also received enough second votes. According to the BVerfG, this procedure is constitutional. According to the court, it is not a departure „from the basic principles of the previous electoral law“, does not violate the equal opportunities of the parties and does not constitute unequal treatment of votes.

The situation is different, however, with the abolition of the basic mandate clause in conjunction with the five per cent threshold. Under the basic mandate clause, parties could enter the Bundestag even if they won less than five per cent of the vote nationwide, provided they won at least three direct mandates. This rule should no longer exist under the new electoral law, which is why the CSU and the LINKE in particular took the matter to the Federal Constitutional Court. The court declared the abolition unconstitutional. The clause will now remain in force in its current form until the legislature has passed a new regulation. „The Federal Constitutional Court has granted the legislator a great deal of leeway in this regard. In principle, however, consideration should be given to whether it makes sense for changes to electoral law to be passed with simple statutory majorities so that electoral law is not touched every legislature,“ says Rechtsanwalt Dr Dominik Lück.

The contact person for all questions regarding the right to vote in our practice is Rechtsanwalt Dr Dominik Lück.