The question means voting, not standing as a candidate.
Active voting rights mean being allowed to cast a vote. For Hamburg’s district assemblies, the age threshold is 16. Passive electoral rights mean being eligible to be elected. Under Section 10, standing for a district assembly requires a minimum age of 18. These two thresholds answer different questions.
Age alone is not sufficient. Eligible voters are EU citizens of the borough, including Germans and citizens of other EU countries, who meet the statutory conditions. These generally include having a home or habitual residence in Hamburg for at least three months and not being legally excluded from voting. Where someone has several homes, the main home is decisive.
The other three answers
The decisive point is the minimum age for casting a vote.
14
At 14, the statutory age threshold of 16 has not been reached. Interest in politics does not replace this requirement.
18
18 is not the minimum voting age for the district assembly. Here it is relevant to eligibility to stand; voting is possible from 16 when the requirements are met.
20
20 is too high as the minimum age. An eligible person may participate earlier and does not need to wait until their 20th birthday.
Distinguish the local election from the state election.
A district assembly participates in work within its particular borough. The state parliament for all Hamburg is called the Bürgerschaft. Although the voting age is 16 for both elections, eligibility is not otherwise identical: German citizenship is required for the Bürgerschaft election.
The statutory three-month period concerns residence in Hamburg. Moving within Hamburg therefore differs from moving into Hamburg. For moves, the electoral register or special living arrangements, use the current official guidance. For the test’s age question, the answer is 16.
Section 6 · Right to vote · District Assembly Election Act ↗District assembly: vote from 16, stand from 18.
The question asks about voting. First check which of the two rights is meant.
Three words for this question
- wahlberechtigteligible to vote
- Entitled to cast a vote in a particular election.
- wählbareligible to stand
- Eligible to be elected to the body oneself.
- am Wahltagon election day
- The day by which the age requirement must be met.