Try it for yourself
028Federal election

Eligible voters elect the Bundestag.

Votes belong to eligible citizens. Businesses, the military and public administration do not have organisational votes.

About 4 min readReviewed: 19 October 2026
AI-generated empty fictional polling room with privacy screens and a ballot box.
Basic LawArticle 38
Elections require an orderly process. Fictional AI illustration.
The short answer

MPs are elected by the eligible electorate.

Eligible voters determine Parliament’s composition through their votes. Public authorities organise the election but do not vote in their place.

Try it for yourselfExam question · No. 028
Who elects the members of the Bundestag in Germany?

Choose one answer. Your result stays on this page only.

Organising and deciding are different tasks.

A municipality provides polling stations and election workers count votes. This does not authorise them to choose MPs for everyone. The decision comes from the election under the statutory rules.

Not everyone living in Germany is automatically eligible. Bundestag elections require, among other conditions, German citizenship and a minimum age of 18. Section 12 of the Federal Elections Act contains further requirements and rules for Germans abroad.

AI-generated voter with a folded paper at a ballot box beside an election worker.
Casting a vote and assisting the election. Fictional AI-generated demonstration.

The other three answers

A profession or economic power does not replace voting rights.

the military

The armed forces do not select Parliament. Eligible service members can vote as individuals.

the economy

Companies have no Bundestag votes of their own. Eligible employees and business owners vote individually.

the administration

Public administration helps conduct the election; the electorate makes the choice.

Voting rights also depend on the election.

European, state and local elections can have different eligibility rules. Do not automatically transfer this Bundestag answer to every election.

Under Article 38, MPs represent the whole people. Their mandate belongs neither to an authority nor to a company.

Article 38 · Basic Law ↗
Your memory cue

Eligible voters choose; election bodies organise.

Separate the choice of Parliament from running the election.

Three words for this question

wahlberechtigteligible to vote
Meeting the legal conditions for that election.
die AbgeordnetenMPs
Elected members of a parliament.
der Stimmzettelballot paper
The paper used to cast a vote.
Grundgesetz · Artikel 38 ↗
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Sources & context

An independently written study guide, not an official BAMF publication or advice for an individual case. The sources below were reviewed on 19 October 2026 for the claims explained here; the test question comes from the existing question bank.

The two editorial pictures are AI-generated illustrations. They do not document real events or official proceedings.