Status: 09.06.2024 18:51
Around 6.4 million people in Lower Saxony were called upon to vote in the European elections on Sunday. By the afternoon, voter turnout was slightly lower than five years ago.
Exactly 42.98 percent of eligible voters in Lower Saxony cast their votes in one of the approximately 8,000 polling stations by 4:30 p.m., the state election office announced on Sunday evening. In the European elections five years ago, the figure was 45.05 percent. However, if applications for postal voting are taken into account, it is expected that the overall voter turnout will be roughly the same, it said.
European elections 2024: figures and forecasts for Lower Saxony
“>
Prominent voter in the Hanover region
Among the 22 percent of voters in Lower Saxony who had already cast their vote by Sunday afternoon was EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU): Shortly after 10 a.m., she cast her vote at the polling station in Burgdorf-Beinhorn (Hannover region).
34 parties and political associations competed
The approximately 8,000 polling stations in Lower Saxony were open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and a total of 34 parties and political associations were up for election. According to the State Office for Statistics, 3.3 million women and 3.1 million men are eligible to vote in Lower Saxony. This includes both German citizens and people from other European Union countries, it said. According to the State Election Commission, the first results from the districts and independent cities in the European elections are expected to be available on Sunday evening.
European elections 2024: 16-year-olds allowed to vote for the first time
The voting age in Germany was raised for the first time for the European elections to 16 years. According to the State Office for Statistics, the proportion of 16 and 17 year olds in Lower Saxony will be around 2.2 percent, around 71,000 young women and 67,000 young men. The city with the most young voters is Cloppenburg – around 820 first-time voters under the age of 18 live here.
Youngest candidate comes from Lower Saxony
In order to be elected, a candidate must be at least 18 years old. There are two 18-year-olds in Germany who have run for the European elections, one of whom comes from Lower Saxony: Johanna Brauer from Hanover stood for the Left Party. She was born on February 24, 2006, making her the youngest candidate for the European elections nationwide.
Anyone who helps with the election will receive refreshment money
According to the state election office, around 80,000 election workers were deployed across Lower Saxony on election day. They all receive a so-called refreshment allowance. This is a tax-free expense allowance for the volunteers and can vary greatly depending on where they live: in Hanover, for example, they receive “only” up to 45 euros. Here, the election workers are appointed, and citizens can only refuse if they have a valid reason. In Oldenburg, on the other hand, volunteers are used for the 130 polling stations. To make their work a little more palatable, the city is increasing the “refreshment allowance” considerably: election workers receive up to 100 euros. This puts Oldenburg way ahead in Lower Saxony when it comes to “refreshment allowance”.
Voter turnout in previous European elections in Lower Saxony
In the 2019 European elections, voter turnout in Lower Saxony was 61.5 percent, just above the national average of 61.4 percent. Across Europe, the rate was only 50.7 percent. The highest voter turnout to date was recorded in the first European elections in 1979: in Lower Saxony, 70 percent of people voted. Nationwide, the figure was only 65.7 percent.
Further information
