City of Aachen
Volunteers who have already sent a declaration of acceptance as an election assistant to the Elections Department of the City of Aachen in December or by mid-January and have not yet received a letter of invitation, please contact the responsible employees at wahlhilfe@mail.aachen.de or 0241 432-1640 as soon as possible.
"Democracy also means commitment"
Electoral assistants are indispensable for holding elections. The election to the German Bundestag took place on February 23, 2025 and the local elections will be held on September 14, 2025. Only with the active help of electoral assistants on election day can we successfully hold the elections. We need around 2,300 volunteer electoral assistants for each election event.
Are you interested in working as an election assistant or do you have any questions?
Then write to us atwahlhilfe@mail.aachen.de or call us on 0241 432-1625.
Who can become an election assistant?
To become an election assistant, you must be eligible to vote in the respective election.
In concrete terms, this means
You can become an election assistant for the Bundestag election, who
- is a German within the meaning of Article 116 (1) of the Basic Law on election day
- has reached the age of 18 on election day
- has lived in the Federal Republic of Germany for at least three months prior to the election or otherwise habitually resides there and
- is not excluded from the right to vote under § 13 BWahlG.
You can become an election assistant for local elections, who
- is a German within the meaning of Article 116 (1) of the Basic Law on election day
- has reached the age of 16 on election day
- has lived in the Federal Republic of Germany for at least three months prior to the election or otherwise habitually resides there and
- has had his or her residence in the electoral area since at least the 16th day before the election, or his or her main residence if he or she has more than one residence, or otherwise habitually resides in the electoral area and has no residence outside the electoral area, and
- is not excluded from the right to vote pursuant to Section 8 of the Local Elections Act.
Where can you work as an election assistant?
You can work as an election assistant at a polling station or a postal voting station.
If you are helping at a polling station, you will be on duty from 7.30 a.m. on election day until after the count has been completed. As far as possible, we will try to take your wishes into account and deploy you close to your place of residence, for example.
If you are helping at a postal polling station, you will be on duty from 1 p.m. on election day until after the count has been completed.
What are the tasks of an election assistant?
As an election assistant, you are part of an election committee of six to nine people. In various roles, you work together to ensure that the election is conducted properly.
The election committee is made up of:
- the election supervisor,
- the secretary,
- four to seven assessors.
Depending on your role on the election committee, you will be responsible for the following tasks, among others:
Supervisor of elections
- Together with the other members of the election committee, they set up the polling station. This includes, for example, setting up the ballot boxes and booths, attaching the public notice and sample ballot papers as well as the signage in the building on the way to the polling station.
- They oblige the members of the election committee to perform their duties impartially and to maintain secrecy in the sense of electoral secrecy.
- They chair the election committee, open and close the election and count the votes.
- They settle disputes in the polling station.
- Their vote shall be decisive in the event of a tie vote in the election committee.
- They coordinate the proper counting of votes.
- Together with the secretary, they check whether all members of the election committee have signed the minutes after the results have been determined.
- You pass on the election results for your constituency by telephone to a central collection point.
- You hand in the election record and the election documents.
Secretary
- They keep the electoral roll and accept the ballot papers.
- You calculate the number of voters in your polling station after 6 pm.
- They are responsible for the proper completion of the minutes.
- Once the results have been determined, sign the minutes.
- Together with the election supervisor, they check that all election committee members have signed the minutes after the results have been determined.
Assessor
- They check whether the eligible voters are in the correct polling station and regulate access to the polling station.
- They assist the secretary and hand out the ballot papers.
- You support voters in need of assistance as an assistant in voting in secrecy.
- They help to count the votes.