Elections in Austria

No Compulsory Voting

In the current Austrian legal system, no mandatory voting is exercised. 

Regarding elections to the National Council, the duty to cast a vote was abolished in 1992. Until then, the provincial law maker was entitled to regulate mandatory voting in the respective provincial election laws. Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg were the last provinces to exercise compulsory voting (until 1992).

A nation-wide duty to vote in presidential elections only existed until 1982. Subsequently it was up to the provincial law maker whether or not such a duty was upheld in a respective province. During the elections to the office of Federal President in 2004, only the province of Tyrol still had a provision governing compulsory voting. However, said provision was abolished in the same year, shortly after the elections. Hence, there was no more mandatory voting in the 2010 presidential elections.

 
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