So, you're trying to figure out exactly when Germans are heading back to the polling stations. It’s a bit of a mess right now, honestly. If you’ve been scrolling through news feeds lately, you might have seen dates flying around for 2025 and 2026, and it’s enough to give anyone a headache.
When is Germany election? Well, the short answer is that the big national one—the federal election—actually just happened on February 23, 2025.
I know, I know. You might have been expecting a regular four-year cycle ending in late 2025, but the "Traffic Light" coalition (the SPD, Greens, and FDP) basically blew up in late 2024. Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, and the whole thing came crashing down. That’s why we had a snap election way earlier than planned.
But if you’re looking for the 2026 elections, those are a different beast entirely. We’re talking about state-level battles that could totally flip the script for the new Chancellor, Friedrich Merz.
The 2026 Election Calendar: Where the Action Is
In Germany, the states (Länder) have massive power. They aren't just ceremonial. They control schools, police, and have a huge say in federal laws through the Bundesrat. 2026 is going to be a massive year for these regional showdowns.
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Here is the breakdown of what is actually happening in 2026. Forget the rigid tables; let’s just look at the timeline.
- March 8, 2026: Things kick off in Baden-Württemberg. This is a huge deal because it's the heart of German industry (think Mercedes and Bosch). It's also been a stronghold for the Greens, and everyone is watching to see if they can hold on.
- March 22, 2026: Just two weeks later, Rhineland-Palatinate goes to the polls. This has traditionally been SPD territory, but after their federal bruising in 2025, it’s anyone’s game.
- September 6, 2026: We head east to Saxony-Anhalt. This is where the political temperature usually boils over. The AfD (Alternative for Germany) has been polling incredibly high in eastern states, and this will be the first major test of their "post-federal-election" momentum.
- September 20, 2026: A double-header. Both Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern hold their elections on the same day. Berlin is always chaotic—it's the capital, it's progressive, and the local government has been a rotating door of coalitions lately.
Why 2025 Changed Everything for 2026
You can't really talk about the 2026 state votes without acknowledging the earthquake of February 2025. Friedrich Merz and the CDU/CSU alliance came out on top with about 28.5% of the vote. They’ve formed a "Grand Coalition" with the SPD, which, let's be real, is more of a "forced marriage" than a honeymoon.
The AfD surged to second place nationally (around 20.8%), which terrified the political establishment. Because of this, the 2026 state elections are basically a high-stakes temperature check. If the AfD wins big in Saxony-Anhalt or Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in September 2026, the Merz government in Berlin is going to have a very hard time passing any meaningful legislation.
It's kinda wild how fast things shifted. A year ago, we thought we had until autumn 2025 to breathe. Now, the new government is already under fire, and the 2026 state elections are seen as a referendum on whether the Merz-led coalition can actually fix the economy.
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Understanding the Two-Vote System
If you’re actually in Germany and planning to vote in these state elections, or just curious how it works, the "Zweitstimme" is the secret sauce.
When you get your ballot, you get two votes. The first one is for a person in your local district. The second—the big one—is for the party list. This second vote determines the percentage of seats a party gets in the parliament.
There's a catch, though. The 5% threshold. If a party doesn't get at least 5% of the total vote, they get zero seats. In the 2025 federal election, the FDP (the pro-business party) fell below this and got kicked out of parliament entirely. It was a brutal "extinction event" for them. We might see similar drama in the 2026 state elections for smaller parties like the Left (Die Linke) or the BSW (Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance).
What to Watch For in the Coming Months
If you're tracking the political landscape, the real drama isn't just the date on the calendar. It’s the coalitional math.
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- The "Brandmauer" (Firewall): All the mainstream parties (CDU, SPD, Greens) have promised not to work with the AfD. But in the 2026 eastern state elections, the AfD might become so large that it's mathematically impossible to form a government without them—unless everyone else teams up.
- Economic Anxiety: Germany’s "debt brake" (Schuldenbremse) is the big boogeyman. Merz wants to keep it tight; the SPD and Greens want to spend to modernize the power grid. This fight will play out in every state election in 2026.
- The Rise of the BSW: Sahra Wagenknecht’s new party is a weird mix of conservative social views and socialist economics. They flopped a bit in the federal 2025 vote, but they are looking at 2026 as their chance to dig in at the state level.
Actionable Steps for Staying Informed
Politics moves fast. Since the 2025 federal election just wrapped up and the 2026 cycle is already warming up, here is what you should do to keep track:
- Check the Bundeswahlleiterin website: This is the official Federal Returning Officer. It’s the "gold standard" for dates and official results. If you see a date on social media that isn't here, it’s probably fake.
- Follow the "Sonntagsfrage" polls: These are "Sunday questions" asked by pollsters like Infratest dimap or Forsa. They ask, "If the election were this Sunday, who would you vote for?" They are the best way to see if the Merz government is losing its "honeymoon" phase.
- Watch the Regional News (Landeszeitungen): If you're interested in the March 2026 votes, stop reading national news and start looking at local outlets in Stuttgart or Mainz. That’s where the real policy debates about 2026 are happening right now.
The 2026 elections aren't just local formalities. They are the next chapter in a very chaotic story for Germany. Whether you're an expat living in Berlin or just someone watching from abroad, these dates in March and September are the ones to circle in red on your calendar.
Practical Next Steps: Verify your local registration if you are a resident in Baden-Württemberg or Rhineland-Palatinate, as the "voter notification" (Wahlbenachrichtigung) letters typically arrive about four to six weeks before the March 2026 dates. If you are an observer, monitor the state-level polling in February 2026 to see if the national "Grand Coalition" trend is holding or if voters are shifting toward the fringes.