Elections in Austria

Electoral Authorities

Austria has a top central election authority which is called “Bundeswahlbehörde” (Federal Electoral Board). The Federal Electoral Board is an independent authority comprised of the Federal Minister of the Interior as chairperson and 17 „Beisitzer“ (assessors). Two assessors are drawn from the judiciary; the additional 15 assessors are nominated by the parties represented in the National Council. The Federal Electoral Board is completely independent of the government.

All members of the Federal Electoral Board must not belong to any other electoral authority. The Federal Minister of the Interior can designate one or more deputies. In addition, every assessor is deputized by one co-assessor (“Ersatzbeisitzer”). Parties not being represented in the National Council are entitled to delegate “Vetrauenspersonen” (observers) to the Federal Electoral Board. The principal regulations governing the structure of the Federal Electoral Board are laid down in the Austrian Federal Constitution. Further details are stipulated in the National Council Elections Act (“Nationalrats-Wahlordnung”).

The Federal Electoral Board plays a core role in the realisation of nationwide elections and supervises all other election authorities performing their respective tasks. The Federal Electoral Board is in charge of elections to the National Council, the European Parliament, the office of Federal President, referenda (“Volksabstimmung”), and public opinion polls (“Volksbefragung”). Besides, the Authority determines the final results of public initiatives (“Volksbegehren”).

The Federal Electoral Board receives the votes cast by the municipalities which are submitted to the Provincial Election Authorities through the District Election Authorities. The Federal Electoral Board is subsequently charged with the determination of the actual number of parliamentary seats achieved by the parties running in the nation-wide elections.

The Federal Electoral Board, being an independent council, draws on the competent Department of Electoral Affairs (Department III/6) of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which serves as the support branch of the electoral board. The relation between the Federal Electoral Board and the Ministerial Department of Electoral Affairs is clearly defined by law.

At the seat of each of the nine Offices of Provincial Governments a Provincial Electoral Authority is established separately for each Province. It consists of the Governor of the Province or a permanent representative to be appointed by him (her) as chairperson and provincial polling officer, and of nine assessors.

For each political district, a District Electoral Authority is installed. It consists of the head of the district office or a permanent representative to be appointed by him (her) as chairperson and district officer, as well as of nine assessors.  

In Austria, ballots are exclusively counted by the local electoral authorities (community and precinct election authorities). As an exception, postal ballots are counted by the district election authorities.

All in all, Austria numbers approx. 13,000 polling stations; each of them maintains an election authority. The number of members of a local election authority depends on whether or not a community is further divided into sub-areas (precinct electoral authorities) for the purpose of an election. If the election authority of the municipality functions as the local authority, the number of members is 9 plus one chairperson. Both for the chairperson and the commission members, substitutes are nominated. A local commission for a sub-area (precinct) comprises 3 members and a chairperson plus one substitute for each of them.

The chairperson of a local election authority in a community (usually the respective mayor) becomes head of said commission by law. The chairperson in a sub-area is nominated by the community (normally by the mayor). The other members of the authority are nominated by the different parties. The number of seats for a party depends on the results of the last parliamentary election and is calculated by the “D'Hondt” system.

Parties not having achieved any seats can nominate two witnesses who take part in the meetings of the electoral commissions without the right to vote.

In theory accepting the nomination as a member or witness of an electoral authority is compulsory if a person lives in the community where he/she is nominated. In practice people are asked by the parties whether or not they would like to join the authority.

Members of an election authority do not get any payment. They only receive a small compensation for food and drinks that depends on the hours of operation of a polling station on election day. 

 
Federal Ministry of the Interior
Department III/6 - Electoral Affairs
P.O. Box 100, A-1014 Vienna
Phone: +43-(0)1-53126-2464
e-mail: wahl@bmi.gv.at