State election 2025

Why there is now a blank space on the ballot paper

A lot to do for Bernhard Ozlsberger, Cornelia Lichtenberger, Angelika Schlögl and Daniela Gradwohl.

(Bild: Christoph Miehl)

The ballot papers have been printed, the opening hours of the polling stations and the prohibited zones have been determined. The sample ballot papers are currently being sent out to households - and they have a little surprise in store.

There is still a week and a half to go until the state election. While tension is mounting in the political offices as the election campaign intensifies, organizational preparations are underway at the state election management and the electoral authorities. Now that the ballot papers have been printed over the holidays, the opening hours of the polling stations have also been set.

End of the election day at 4 pm
Bad Sauerbrunn will open election day on January 19. Votes can be cast here from 6.45 am. Salmannsdorf and Strem will be the last to open their doors at 9.30 am. Half an hour later, however, voting is already over in some districts. It will then close everywhere at 4 pm. The first projection will be made shortly afterwards.

All information at: www.burgenland.at/wahl2025

Voting with a polling card
However, many Burgenlanders will have already voted before the regular election day. This is possible at any time using a polling card. This only needs to be returned to the municipality by 2 p.m. on January 17 or brought along directly on January 19. It is also possible to fill in the polling card on the spot when applying at the municipal office. In addition, there will be "flying polling stations" on 19 January, which will come to people who are not mobile for reasons of age or illness, for example.

Early election day
This Friday there will also be an early election day. At least one polling station in each municipality will be open for at least two hours, in any case from 6 pm to 7 pm. The ballot papers have a little surprise in store this time: the order of the parties on the ballot paper varies from district to district. One time the "Liste Hausverstand" is in fifth place, another time Neos. This is due to the order in which the district election proposals were received by the authorities, explains Bernhard Ozlsberger, the provincial election officer.

Ballot papers now going to households
In addition, list position 26 on the "Hausverstand" list is empty. This is not a printing error, emphasizes Ozlsberger. Rather, the candidate who was scheduled to stand there withdrew his candidacy after the deadline. The sample ballot papers currently being sent to households can be used to "practice" filling them in. Five crosses are possible. In addition to the party vote, a preferential vote can be cast for the state election list. Up to three preferential votes are possible in the lowest, yellow area.

A ballot paper is valid if at least one of these five crosses has been made. Preferential votes play a special role. A valid preferential vote for a person of the same party is also considered a party vote for that party - even if another party has been marked. On the district electoral list, only the preferential votes count and no longer the list position. All votes, including preferential votes, will be counted on election Sunday.