Postal voting using voting card

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General information

With an voting card you can also cast your vote in Austria and abroad using postal voting. You can cast your vote as soon as you receive your voting card and do not have to wait until election day.

The following statements apply mutatis mutandis to voting cards for referendums and popular consultations.

There may be different regulations for provincial parliamentary elections, municipal council and mayoral elections. Please get to know about your province in good time on the website of the respective office of the provincial government.

Requirements

To vote by post, you must apply for a voting card in good time.

Deadlines

Federal Presidential and National Council elections and European elections

For federal presidential elections and national council elections as well as European elections your election card must be

  • received by your competent district electoral authority by election day, 5 p.m. at the latest,
  • on election day by 5 p.m.at a district electoral authority and also at a polling station as long as it is open or
  • used on election day in an open election card polling station (at least one per municipality) for voting.

Information on the deadlines for applying for a voting card can also be found at oesterreich.gv.at.

Elections at state and municipal level

Please note that for elections at provincial and municipal level, there may be deviations, in particular with regard to the deadline for applying for a voting card and the procedure for postal voting. Please get to know about your province in good time on the website of the respective office of the provincial government.

Procedure

Your voting card can be

  • used to vote immediately after the voting card has been issued in the municipality/municipal authority/municipal district office on the premises of the issuing authority and the completed and sealed voting card can then be handed in; 
    or
  • filled in and sealed by post to the competent district electoral board ,
  • completed and taped up and submitted abroad to an Austrian representation authority (→ BMEIA) or a unit of the Austrian Armed Forces stationed abroad,
  • completed and taped up by 5 p.m. on election day at a district electoral authority and also at an polling station, as long as it is open, (may also be submitted by another person) or
  • unfilled and openly on election day for personal voting at an election station. In this case, the voting card must be brought to the election station unfilled (without a declaration in lieu of an oath) and unsealed together with its contents and handed over to the Chief Electoral Officer. In principle, it is possible to vote in person at any election station in Austria using a voting card; however, in the case of National parliamentary elections it is possible that not all election stations in a building with several election stations are also intended for voting card voters (but at least one election station is). 
  • There may be different regulations for state parliamentary elections, municipal council and mayoral elections. Please get to know about your province in good time on the website of the respective office of the provincial government. 

You can generally cast your postal vote by

  • removing the official ballot paper and the gummed ballot paper envelope from the voting card,
  • filling in the official ballot paper personally, unobserved and uninfluenced,
  • placing the completed official ballot paper in the gummed ballot paper envelope, sealing it and returning it in the election card envelope,
  • then submit the affidavit  with your handwritten signature in the space provided,
  • finally seal the voting card envelope and ensure that it is received by the competent district electoral board printed on the election card by 5 p.m. at the latest on election day. On election day, an election card used for postal voting may be handed in at any district electoral authority and also at any polling station as long as it is open. There may be different regulations for provincial parliamentary elections, municipal council and mayoral elections. Please get to know about your province in good time on the website of the respective office of the provincial government .

  • You can cast your vote immediately after receiving your voting card by postal vote.

Costs and fees

Regardless of whether you post your voting card in Switzerland or abroad, the postage costs are always borne by the federal government.

Legal basis

Link to form

The application form is available online from about eight weeks before an election takes place.

Translated by the European Commission
Last update: 3 May 2024

Responsible for the content: Federal Ministry of the Interior