Austrian Elections: Truly Free Or Far From It?

Austria's federal elections are held to elect the federal president and the National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament. The federal president is elected for a six-year term, while the National Council is elected every five years. The country has a multi-party system, with a proportional representation system for parliamentary elections. Citizens aged 16 and above can exercise their right to vote in federal elections, while those aged 18 and above can stand as candidates. The voting process in Austria is governed by federal law, which also applies to European Parliament elections.

Voting rights and restrictions

In Austria, the right to vote is extended to citizens who are 16 or older on election day. Austrian citizens who have their residence in Austria are automatically registered to vote, while EU citizens living in Austria must register to vote once in the municipality of their principal residence. Austrian citizens without a residence in Austria must register to vote with their Austrian municipality, and this registration is valid for ten years.

Austrian election law distinguishes between the "active" right to vote and the "passive" right to be elected, with different minimum age requirements. Citizens who are 16 or older on election day may exercise the right to vote in elections at all levels of government, while citizens aged 18 and up may stand as candidates in elections, except for presidential elections, where the minimum age is 35. Citizens of other European Union member states with a permanent residence in Austria may vote in European Union elections and in municipal elections.

Citizens who are sentenced to more than five years of imprisonment can lose their voting rights for the duration of their sentence if a judge determines that such a suspension is warranted. This preclusion period is shortened to one year for specific offenses, such as terrorism, voter fraud, and treason. Until 2011, members of current or former ruling noble houses, such as the Habsburg family, were ineligible for office.

Voters in Austria can cast their votes at their designated polling station or by post. Postal voting is also available for Austrians living abroad, and voting is only possible by post in this case. Voters who are unable to visit a polling station due to a physical disability can apply for automatic delivery of voting cards.

Voting systems

Austria's federal elections are governed by federal law, which also applies to European Parliament elections. The country has a multi-party system. Austria's federal president is elected for a six-year term under a two-round system, which ensures that the president is supported by a majority of voters. The National Council, the lower house of Austria's bicameral parliament, is elected by proportional representation every five years.

The overall objective of Austria's election system for parliament and other legislative bodies is to ensure proportional allocation of seats based on the share of votes received by political parties. This system requires voters to select a political party rather than individual candidates. Voters can, however, cast preference votes for particular candidates within their chosen party list. Any preference votes for candidates of another party are invalid.

In National Council elections, each state constitutes an electoral unit, and each of the nine states is subdivided into regional electoral districts. Political parties may compete nationwide but are not required to do so. To gain representation in the National Council, a party must either win a basic mandate in one of the regional districts or receive at least 4% of all valid votes cast nationwide.

Seats are apportioned to the regional constituencies based on the results of the most recent census. Following the elections, seats are allocated to the successful parties and lists in a three-stage process, starting with the regional constituencies. Seats are distributed according to the Hare quota in the regional constituencies, and any unallocated seats are distributed at the state constituency level. Any remaining seats are then allocated using the D'Hondt method at the federal level to ensure overall proportionality between a party's national vote share and its share of parliamentary seats.

In addition to voting for a political party, voters may cast three preferential votes for specific candidates of that party, but they are not required to do so. These additional votes can change the rank order of candidates on a party's lists at the federal, state, and regional levels. The threshold to increase the position of a candidate on a federal party list is 7%, compared to 10% at the state level and 14% at the regional level.

In 2024, the Austrian government reformed the voting law, introducing an early voting period of three weeks before election day, during which voters could request absentee ballots in every municipality. Another reform was the counting of almost all absentee and mail ballots on election day. The new changes led to most votes being counted on election day, with only a small number of late-arriving ballots counted on the following days. The reformed election law was approved by the National Council and the Federal Council in early 2023.

Voter eligibility

Citizens of other European Union member states with a permanent residence in Austria may vote in European Union and municipal elections. They must register to vote once in the municipality of their principal residence, and will remain registered as long as they reside in Austria.

Austrian citizens without a residence in Austria must register to vote with their Austrian municipality. The registration is valid for ten years.

Austrian citizens with their main residence abroad can apply for a voting card. They must be registered as voters in an Austrian municipality. If they are unable to provide a definitive delivery address abroad, they can have their voting card sent to an Austrian representative authority or to a post office abroad.

Citizens who are sentenced to more than five years of imprisonment can lose their voting rights for the duration of their sentence if a judge determines that such a suspension is warranted. This preclusion period is shortened to one year for specific offenses, such as terrorism, voter fraud, and treason.

Voting abroad

Voting from Abroad

Austrian citizens living abroad without a residence in Austria must register to vote with their Austrian municipality. The registration is valid for ten years.

Austrian citizens whose main residence is located abroad are entitled to participate in elections to the European Parliament in Austria and to elect the members of the Austrian European Parliament. This requires entry in the European electoral register in Austria. Each Austrian living abroad whose main residence is located in a Member State of the European Union is entitled to submit a vote to select the Austrian Members of the European Parliament or the representatives of their host country. For electing Austrian Members, a formal declaration must be made when requesting entry in the European electoral register.

Austrian citizens whose main residence is located abroad (and who are entered in the electoral register of an Austrian municipality upon request) and persons who are only staying abroad temporarily have the option of voting from abroad by postal vote.

The deadline for Austrians living abroad to register to vote in the European elections is 25 April 2024.

Election campaigning

In the 2024 election campaign, the focus was on security and policing issues, tackling political and extremist Islam in Austria, and immigration and integration of immigrants, particularly from Muslim-majority countries. This shift in focus was influenced by the 2024 Vienna terrorism plot and the 2024 Solingen stabbing in neighbouring Germany.

The far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) campaigned for "zero asylum", increased deportations of criminal foreigners, and a new law to ban political/extremist Islam in Austria, similar to the country's anti-Nazi legislation. They also called for legal recognition of binary genders, restoring some political powers from the EU, ending sanctions against Russia, and exiting the European Sky Shield Initiative.

The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) campaigned on a platform of stability, tighter immigration laws, and tax cuts. The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and ÖVP both attacked FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl, pledging not to join a government led by him. However, ÖVP leader Karl Nehammer did not rule out forming a coalition with the FPÖ that excluded Kickl.

The use of the term "Volkskanzler" (People's Chancellor) by the FPÖ to describe Kickl in its campaign material drew criticism due to its association with Adolf Hitler and the party's origins as a party founded by former Nazis.

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