Municipal council elections 2025: Mooskirchen residents are particularly early!

Municipal council elections 2025: Mooskirchen residents are particularly early!

Preparations for the local council elections in Styria on March 23, 2025 are in full swing. The polling stations in Mooskirchen will open at 6:30 a.m., while some in Thörl and Wald am Schoberpass will close at 11:00 a.m. The voting process will be completed in all polling stations at 2:30 p.m. According to the head of the state electoral department, Eva Möstl, voters who have received an election notification can cast their vote and also apply for voting cards. What is new, however, is that voting is only possible within your own municipality; voting in other municipalities is not permitted orf.at reported.

Innovations in the allocation of elections

What is particularly important is the rule that only people with their main residence in the respective municipality are allowed to vote. This change is the result of an amendment to the NÖ GRWO, which came into force in 2022. In addition, the unofficial ballot paper will be abolished, so that only the official ballot paper will be valid. All applicants are listed by name on this, which requires a larger format of the ballot paper. Kommunal.at also reported on the new allocation of preferential votes, in which a maximum of five can be cast, with exceeding this leading to invalidity.

Various measures are planned during the elections to ensure electoral integrity. Election witnesses are allowed to assist in voting, but only under certain conditions, and new grounds for nullity of postal voting cards also apply. The deadlines for submitting and finalizing election proposals have also been brought forward by a few days, which requires rapid organization. A total of 5,062 local council seats are up for grabs, making these elections an important matter for Styria.