Model of electoral management

The Federal Returning Office (Die Bundeswahlleiterin), Federal Elections Act of 1993 (last amended on 7 March 2024) (Bundeswahlgesetz (BWG) (zuletzt geändert am 7. März 2024)), accessed 17 March 2025.

Act is only available in German as of the last access date. The following is an unofficial translation: 

Section 8: Organization of Electoral Bodies 

(1) The electoral bodies shall be the Federal Returning Officer and the Federal Electoral Committee for the electoral area, a State Returning Officer and a State Electoral Committee for each State, a District Returning Officer and a District Electoral Committee for each constituency, an Electoral Officer and an Electoral Board for each polling district, and at least one Electoral Officer and an Electoral Board for each constituency to determine the postal ballot results. The District Returning Officer shall determine how many Postal Ballot Boards are to be formed in order to determine the postal ballot results on election day. 

Section 9: Formation of Electoral Bodies 

(1) The Federal Returning Officer and his or her deputy shall be appointed by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Home Affairs; the state returning officers, district returning officers, and electoral officers, as well as their deputies, shall be appointed by the state government or the body designated by it. 

(2) The Federal Electoral Committee shall consist of the Federal Returning Officer as chairperson, eight eligible voters appointed by him or her as assessors, and two judges of the Federal Administrative Court. The other electoral committees shall consist of the returning officer as chairperson and six eligible voters appointed by him or her as assessors; two judges of the state's Higher Administrative Court shall also be appointed to the state electoral committees. The electoral boards shall consist of the returning officer as chairperson, his or her deputy, and three to seven additional eligible voters appointed by the returning officer as assessors. The state government or the body designated by it may order that the assessors of the electoral board be appointed by the municipal authority, and that the assessors of the electoral board for determining the postal ballot results be appointed by the district electoral officer, or in the case of an order pursuant to Section 8 (3), by the municipal authority or the district administrative authority alone or in agreement with the electoral officer. When appointing the assessors, the parties represented in the respective district shall be taken into account wherever possible.