Electoral board

The supreme electoral board in Austria is the federal electoral board. It is newly formed on the occasion of each national parliamentary election and is entrusted with the management and conduct of the national parliamentary election and, during the following legislative period, with the management and conduct of federal presidential elections, european elections as well as referendums, petitions for referendums and popular consultations. 

All other electoral authorities are also newly formed for each national parliamentary election. In addition to the federal electoral board ( → BMI)^{german text}, there are nine national electoral boards and for 116 electoral districts 109 district electoral boards (in statutory cities, political districts or administrative districts; in Vienna, the local jurisdiction of a district electoral boardy is based on the area of jurisdiction of the magistrate district office, which means that some district electoral boards in Vienna have jurisdiction over two electoral districts). The lowest unit is the municipal electoral board or, in larger municipalities that are divided into electoral districts, the district electoral board. Also, "mobile electoral boards" ("flying election commissions") are set up. 

Over 10,000 election stations are open during a nationwide election day; The opening hours vary from municipality to municipality. Contact details of the municipalities can also be found at oesterreich.gv.at. 

The electoral boards are each formed by a chairperson (chief electoral officer) and representatives (assistant electoral officers) of the parties contesting a National parliamentary election. The parties are represented in the electoral boards according to the last election result achieved in a national parliamentary election at the respective level (in the case of ward electoral boards according to the election result achieved in the municipality). All parties represented in the National parliament are represented by at least one member in the Federal Electoral Board. The federal electoral board also includes two retired or serving judges. 

A party that is not represented by members in electoral boards on the basis of its share of the vote in its area may nominate representatives to each electoral board if it is represented by at least three members in the most recently elected National parliament; with regard to the provincial electoral board and the federal electoral board, this right also applies to parties not represented in the National parliament. Election witnesses may be delegated to each local electoral board and to each special electoral board by all campaigning parties. 

For all elections, the municipality is the board responsible for keeping the voter register and compiling the voter register. 

Legal basis

• Wählerevidenzgesetz
• annex 1 of the Nationalrats-Wahlordnung (NRWO)
• sections 6 bis 15, 61 of the Nationalrats-Wahlordnung (NRWO)