Vienna 2025: How to allocate your preferred votes correctly!

Vienna 2025: How to allocate your preferred votes correctly!

On March 21, 2025, preparations for the Vienna municipal and district council elections will be in full swing. Each party campaigning for the election has submitted its lists of candidates, which have now been officially verified and posted online wien.gv.at/wahlen can be viewed. This means that, in addition to choosing their party, voters also have the opportunity to cast preferential votes for certain candidates. These preferential votes are significant because they can influence the order of candidates within their lists.

Preferential votes and their meaning

As already mentioned by wien.gv.at highlighted, a total of three preferential votes can be awarded in the local council election. One of these votes can be cast for one person in the constituency, while two can be used for the citywide proposal. In the district council election, voters are allowed to give a preferential vote to a single candidate. It is important that the granting of preferential votes is only valid if the person elected belongs to the same party that was elected.

The preferential votes offer voters the opportunity to exercise their influence and actively shape the order of candidates. This increases the possibilities for change within the lists and can be decisive for the outcome of the elections. A direct election of the mayor of Vienna is not possible, as this is determined by the newly elected municipal council, but this does not detract from the importance and impact of the individual votes.