How Germany's complex electoral system works
Germany's Bundestag lower house of parliament could swell to a size never seen before after Sunday's (Sep 26) election, thanks to a complex voting system that combines directly elected MPs with proportional representation.Post-war Germany's election system mixes the "winner-takes-all" approach of Britain and the United States with the proportional representation system that allows for more small parties.
When German voters enter the polling booth, they make two crosses on the ballot paper - one for a direct representative in their local district, the other for their preferred political party. The first vote is meant to ensure that each of Germany's 299 districts is represented in the Bundestag, while the second vote determines the total proportion of seats each party will eventually have in parliament.
Ahead of Election Day, the parties write up "candidate lists" in each of the 16 states. The names at the top have the biggest chance of getting a seat. The party with the most votes then gets to send the most lawmakers to the lower house. For example, if a party scores three direct seats through the first vote but is eligible for 10 seats overall through the second vote, seven more names on the party's list are also given seats.
A complication arises when the direct and party votes are out of balance because voters "split" their ballot. When a party earns more direct seats than it is entitled to through its share of the party vote, it is granted the extra seats anyway. These are called "overhang" seats. As a result, the Bundestag can expand far beyond its minimum size of 598 seats. After the 2017 election, the chamber had 709 lawmakers - a figure which could even grow larger.
