Austrian Elections

Austrian citizens residing abroad have been given the right to cast their votes in national elections, elections to the European Parliament, and national referenda. The following provides Austrian citizens with an overview of their voting rights. In-depth information, however, is only available in German. In order to have their votes counted, Austrian citizens residing abroad must:

a) be over the age of 16 on election day,
b) have been registered with an Austrian village or town (solely for election purposes),
c) not have been excluded from the right to vote (e.g. while serving a prison term),
d) have both applied for an absentee ballot and received it in time,
e) return the ballot to the election authorities in Austria by a particular deadline.

A. Voter Registration

If you are an Austrian citizen and do not permanently reside in Austria, you must register (voter registration procedure) with a town or village in Austria in order to have your name added to a local "voter registry." Otherwise, you won't be able to apply for an absentee ballot and you will not be able to cast your vote.

The voter registration application and the instructions on how to complete the form are available online (in German only). Once you have filled in the application, please submit it with a copy of your valid Austrian passport to either the respective town/village in Austria or to the Consulate General in New York.

Please note: Once issued. your voter registration will be valid for ten years. If you want to continue being able to cast your votes in Austrian elections, please renew your registration at least every ten years. The signed application form should be sent either directly to the town/village in Austria or the Consulate General in New York, together with a copy of your valid Austrian passport.

• Voter Registration Form (pdf-file; in German)
• Instructions for filling in the Voter Registration Form (pdf-file; in German)

B. Absentee Ballot & How to Cast the Vote

Once the elections have been officially announced, each Austrian citizen (as long as he/she is registered) may apply for an absentee ballot. For this purpose, please forward the application for an absentee ballot (via mail, fax, e-mail, or online) to the Austrian town/village where you are registered in the "voter registry." Please note that your application for an absentee ballot must include your name, your date of birth, the number of your valid Austrian passport, and the exact address your ballot should be sent to.

You may vote immediately after receiving your absentee ballot. In any case, you must cast your vote before the last polling station in Austria is scheduled to close (note the time difference - during most of the year, Austria is six hours ahead of New York). Please note that both envelopes you have received - the small one and the larger one - must be properly sealed.

It is not necessary at this point to provide proof of identity again. The absentee ballot must be returned directly to the provincial electoral commissions in Austria. Please note that your vote will only be counted if the ballot is received by 2 pm on the eighth day after election day (local Austrian time) at the very latest.

Further information (in German) is available on the following websites:

a) Federal Ministry of the Interior
b) Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs (including links to the addresses and phone numbers of all Austrian villages, towns, and cities)

Embassy of Austria
Consular Section
3524 International Court, NW
Washington, D.C., 20008

Consulate Office Hours:
Monday through Friday,10.30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
(except on Austrian and U.S. holidays )

E-mail: consularsection[at]austria.org