These eligible voters include an estimated 60.9 million Germans who are officially entitled to vote. In addition, around 4.1 million other EU citizens can take part in the election. These are citizens of other EU member states who live in the Federal Republic of Germany. They can decide whether to exercise their right to vote in the European Parliament in Germany or in their home Member State. Participation in elections in Germany requires an application for entry in the electoral register. This must either have been submitted for a European election since 1999 or be submitted by May 19, 2024 in the municipality where you are registered. In the election to the 9th European Parliament in 2019, 0.2 million EU citizens in Germany were entered in a voters' register.
Information on the voting rights of EU citizens can be found on the website of the Federal Returning Officer(www.bundeswahlleiterin.de) under European Election 2024 → Information for voters → EU citizens.
There are around 4.8 million (2019: 3.7 million) potential German first-time voters among those eligible to vote. In addition, there are up to 0.3 million (2019: 0.2 million) young EU citizens. The increased number compared to the last European elections is due to the amendment to the European Elections Act: for the first time, 16 and 17-year-olds can also vote in European elections.
Germany will continue to be represented in the European Parliament by 96 MEPs. Following a vote on a proposal by the European Council on September 12, 2023, the total number of MEPs will increase from the current 705 to 720 for the next electoral term: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Austria, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The following will each receive two more seats: France, the Netherlands and Spain. The United Kingdom left the EU on January 31, 2020.
Further information on the European elections in the Börde district