Loc­al elec­tions in NRW and elec­tion of the In­teg­ra­tion Coun­cil 2020

You may have seen some election posters that were recently put up in Paderborn or you may have received a notification letter. On 13 September 2020, local elections as well as the election of the Integration Council will be held in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Whereas Germans and citizens from the EU are eligible to vote in the local elections, only people with a foreign nationality (not German) or people with a migration background are eligible to elect Paderborn’s Integration Council.

Local Elections 2020

During the local elections (“Kommunalwahl”), the members of the town council (“Stadtrat”), the district council (“Kreistag”), the mayor (“Bürgermeister*in”) as well as the disctrict administrator (“Landrat/Landr?tin”) will be elected.

Who can vote?

You can vote, if you

  • are a German citizen or have the nationality of another Member State of the European Union
  • are 16 or over on the day of the election
  • have had your main residence in Paderborn or in the district of Paderborn at least since the 16th day before the election

If this applies to you, you will receive an election notification by post from the municipal administration approximately four weeks before the election.

On the notification, you can find the address and the opening hours of the polling station.

How can I vote?

You can vote

  • At the polling station on 13 September 2020 (8am-6pm): On election day, you can go to the polling station and vote in person. Please bring the notification letter as well as your passport/identity card
  • by post: You can apply for a polling card online so that you can vote by post
  • in the Postal Voting Office from 17 August 2020. You can already vote in person before 13 September in the Postal Voting Office (Address: Am Abdinghof 11, 33098 Paderborn, Room 0.10). You need to bring the notification letter as well as your passport/identity card.

Further information

Further information can be found here (in German).

Election of the Integration Council 2020

On 13 September 2020, Paderborn’s Integration Council will be elected.

The Integration Council of the City of Paderborn consists of 22 members, 15 of whom are directly elected by the eligible voters for the duration of the city council's term of office. Each person entitled to vote has one vote with which he/she can either elect an individual candidate or a group (list proposals). The remaining 7 members of the Integration Council are elected from among the members of the City Council of Paderborn.

The integration Council represents the interests of immigrants in Paderborn and gives advice to politicians.

Who can vote?

You can vote, if you

  • have a foreign nationality (not German)
  • have acquired German citizenship through naturalisation
  • are 16 or over on the day of the election
  • have been a resident in Germany for at least one year
  • have your main residence in Paderborn at least since the 16th day before the election

If you are eligible to vote, you will receive a notification. On the notification, you can find the address and the opening hours of the polling station.

How can I vote?

You can vote

  • at the polling station on 13 September 2020 (8am-6pm): On election day, you can go to the polling station and vote in person. Please bring the notification letter as well as your passport/identity card
  • by post: You can apply for a polling card online so that you can vote by post. 
  • in the Postal Voting Office from 17 August 2020. You can already vote in person before 13 September in the Postal Voting Office (Address: Am Abdinghof 11, 33098 Paderborn, Room 0.10). You need to bring the notification letter as well as your passport/identity card.

Further information

Further information can be found here (in German only).

 

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