German election system / Bundestagswahl easily explained (explainity® explainer video)

Every four years there is a ballot to decide on the seats in the Bundestag, the Members of Parliament, who represent the people in Germany. But how do the parliamentary elections actually work?
explainity gives some answers in this short clip.

Bundestagswahl = parliamentary elections
personalisierte Verhältniswahl = personalised proportional representation
Erst- und Zweitstimme - first and second vote
Direktmandat - direct mandate
Landesliste - state list
Überhangmandate - overhang seats
Ausgleichsmandate - levelling seats
absolute Mehrheit - absolute majority
Koalition - coalition
Koalitionsvertrag - coalition agreement
Demokratisches Recht - democratic right
Wahlberechtigung - right to vote
Parteilos - impartially
Landtagswahl - state elections

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This explainer video was produced by explainity GmbH

[smitmahajani]

This is easily the best explanation for this topic, that I've come across. Kudos!

[sarah-jlcr]

this video explains it really well, better than some german ones :)

[adalbertoperez]

This helps avoid the division we see in the US, where our system became a two party system. When the US founding fathers established the election system political parties did not exist, and at a time when indentured servitude was being replaced by a legal institution of slavery. A product of its time.

[williampennjr.]

In NY they came up with allowing the people to vote on propositions which sounds like a great idea, until you realize the people in power get to decide what those propositions are, and the worst part is that they're worded in such a confusing way that you don't know weather a yes vote would be in favor of it or opposition to its intent.

[lostmuffin]

my brain.... it hurts. German elections are really complicated.

[SweetJeopardy]

Great video! It's the best explanation that I've found, really clear and concise. When you're used to a presidential system, like in America, it can be complicated to understand how Germany's system works especially when the explanation goes too much into the details. This kept it basic which makes it much easier to grasp, I got it know.

[pearlynina]

I have one of those Sozial Beruf Kunde subjects which is now having a new name PGB .... I think and Mensch! Im struggling. Ive been in Germany for 3 yrs and honestly the politics here is too EXTRA. THANKS ALOT FOR THIS VIDEO. When the teacher was teaching this...I DIDNT GET IT. Jetzt ist alles klar.

[Suursuo]

How many of the list-seats go to candidates who failed to win a direct mandate?

[jealousofmypuddin]

So if a party doesn't get at least 5% or win at least three constituent seats they're not represented at all? What if they just win one constituent seat?

[diegoyuiop]

What's the point of the FPTP here since the additional seats will be allocated to ensure proportionality? Isn't this system, de facto, like an open list PR?

[laggsbd]

Isn't this system just called MMP (Mixed-Member Propotional)

[williampennjr.]

I bet they have voter ID laws. I bet they don't just allow anyone with a copy of the local obituary's to vote.

[catmonarchist]

If your preferred party are going to win many constituencies, you have no incentive to vote for that party with your second vote?

[damon]

I have some questions not expressly answered here:


1) 2:20 — Party A gets exactly 2 direct winners (first vote), but the party only get 4% of the national vote. Do those two directly voted members fail to hold a seat?


2) 2:33 — How exactly is it determined who gets a seat via a party vote (second vote)? To clarify, if a party receives a larger percent share of seats than they got from direct elections, what determines who specifically from that party fills those additional seats? If it's from that Landesliste per district, do all citizens vote for all parties and their respective members, just the party they select, or any amount of parties? (Could I, a theoretical German citizen, cast a vote for a party member in a party I did not vote for in the second vote and/or my party? Am I limited to the list[s] that the district gives me? Can a district withhold a list from me since they only offer the list of other party/parties [i.e. my party of choice isn't running for candidacy in my district]?)


3) 3:10 — What determines the "base rate" for Uberhangmandat seats? Is it the largest party, the largest percent over, or some other mathematical operation? Use the following example: Party A gets 110 direct vote-ins, but only 16.7% of the national votes (meaning 100 seats) and therefore spills over by 10 seats, or 10% of BASE seats; Party B gets 60 direct vote-ins, but only 8.4% of the national votes (meaning 50 seats) and therefore spills over by 10 seats, or 20% of BASE seats. Does Party A get an additional 10% of BASE seats (adding the spill over percent up-to 20%) meaning 10 seats, or 120 seats total after "rebalancing" the seat shares?


4) Finally, are there write-ins allowed at either first or second votings? As in, if my candidate isn't on the ballot in my district for the first vote, may I write in his name? Same for the second vote— If my party of choice didn't run in my district, can I write-in their name? Could I write-in a Landesliste for the party? Could I write-in a candidate not on the official Landesliste for my party?

[madeupflags]

Such a complicated system!
Ig India has the simplest one which is responsible for all its problems.

[thomasreichert]

In the end it’s quite easy:
Germany has about 300 roughly equally populated districts and all Germans above 18 are automatically allowed to cast two votes
The first vote directly selects the local representative of one’s district via first past the post, hence every district is represented in the Bundestag by at least one person.
The second vote is for a party and the Bundestag is filled up with pre-defined party representatives until its seat distribution represents the distribution of the popular vote, increasing it up to currently a bit above 700.
The Bundestag finally elects the Chancellor.
As this system does not systematically suppress third parties, coalitions between two or more parties might be necessary. A yes there also is a rule (the 5%/3 seats mentioned) to make sure that the number of parties stays in a reasonable range, currently it’s 7.
It also mitigates two more fundamental flaws of e.g. the US system: Gerrymandering is pointless and whoever becomes chancellor is backed by a coalition holding the majority of the popular vote.

[bozokluoglu_]

For example what happens if let's say a small party's direct representatives won in so many districts out of 299, but in the second vote the party couldn't pass 5% do these representatives go to the Bundestag or no?

[Ggdivhjkjl]

In Australia voting isn't a right - it's a requirement. Fines are issued to those who fail to vote whether they like it or not. It's like how we expect all children to learn how to hunt and cook kangaroos on school camp whether they like it or not.

[HungryTacoBoy]

I want to know how many of the citizens actually understand their own electoral system. Unless they had robust education of the public about how this system works I feel most people would not understand how their votes influence the parliament.

[BoraCM]

I do not see why they need levelling seats. Just take away their overhang seats and redistribute them to the other parties! You won’t need levelling seats. I think that levelling and overhang seats should only be used to determine which seats go to which party, not to determine how many seats there are.