Austria

The National Council is elected in a 3-tier, open-list proportional representation system, in which the lowest level consists of (multi-member) regional constituencies, the middle level consists of the 9 federal states (Länder) as functional (multi-member) constituencies, and the topmost is the federal level consisting of a single (multi-member) national constituency. At the regional and provincial levels, seats are distributed using the simple quota rule (Hare quota), with unallocated seats being transferred to the next (higher) level. At the higher level, seats are distributed based on the total votes, taking into account the seats already won by the parties at the lower levels, i.e. the system operates on the principle of seat-linkage compensation rather than fractional votes. At the national level, seat allocation between parties is done using the D'Hondt method, which biases the system towards larger parties by a little. The legal electoral threshold is 4% nationwide, but a party that has won at least one regional seat is also exempt from the threshold.

Voters can vote for candidates at all three levels on the ballot, so they can cast a total of 3 preference votes. At the regional level, they can do this by marking a printed name with a cross (which is what a significant portion of voters actually), while at the other two levels, they can use the open list voting option by writing the candidate's name or number (a lesser used option, since these candidates are less local and requires an active write-in).

The minimum age for active suffrage (the right to vote) is 16 years, and for passive suffrage (the right to stand for election) is 18 years. Voting is not compulsory, postal voting is available for all, however, in-person voting aborad, online voting or proxy voting are not possible. In person voting is possible on one day (a Sunday).

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The president (head of state) is directly elected for a 6-year term in a two-round system and may be re-elected once, so the same person can be president for a maximum of 2 terms in total, i.e. 12 years (the two terms do not have to be consecutive). The first round is held via a single-choice vote and the two candidates with the most votes advance to the second round if no one receives a majority (more than half of the valid votes, 50%+) in the first round.

MEPs from Austria are elected every 5 years (at the same time as in the other EU member states). The entire country forms one constituency, in which 20 MEPs were elected in 2024. Due to "degressive proportionality", Austrian voters have more representatives per capita than the EU average.

The main principle in the election of the Parliament (within the countries) is proportionality: by default, only a proportional system can be used, but beyond this, the member states decide for themselves what type. Austria, like most member states, uses an open-list proportional system. This means that voters can vote not only for a party list, but also for a candidate on the list, thus allowing them the chance to collectively change the predetermined order of the candidates. The allocation of seats between parties is done using the D'Hondt (Jefferson) method. The legal electoral threshold is 4%, but in practice (due to the 20 seats) a minimum of about 4.5% is usually required to obtain a seat.

The minimum age for active suffrage (the right to vote) is 16 years, and for passive suffrage (standing for election) is 18 years. Voting is not compulsory, postal voting is available for all, however, in-person voting aborad, online voting or proxy voting are not possible. In person voting is possible on one day (a Sunday).

This is the description of the electoral system of Austria as of 05.06.2026 on Electoral Knowledgebase. Sources and further information on this topic:

• 2024 European Parliament elections: National rules (European Parliament)

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