6,363,489 eligible Austrians elect a new federal president

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6,363,489 Austrians are eligible to vote in the federal presidential election on October 9, 2022. They can decide whether Alexander Van der Bellen should remain federal president for another six years – or whether they prefer one of his six competitors.

All Austrians who turn 16 no later than October 9 are eligible to vote. That is slightly fewer this year than in the 2019 National Council election and a shade less than in the 2016 Hofburg election.

Fewer eligible voters than in the 2019 NR election
The number of eligible voters has decreased by 0.52 percent, or 33,323, compared to the 2019 National Council election, according to final figures released Friday by the Interior Ministry. Compared to the 2016 federal presidential election, the number is down by 19,018, or 0.30 percent.

But not all provinces saw a decline: Burgenland and Lower Austria have about 0.1 percent more eligible voters (compared to the NR election), and Vorarlberg has 0.3 percent more. The figures fell sharply in Styria and Vienna, by around one percent in each case.

This is not because the population is declining, as an evaluation by APA and OGM for the federal capital has shown. It has increased compared to 2016. But: More and more Viennese are not entitled to vote due to lack of citizenship. Around a third of the voting-age population is not allowed to vote in the federal presidential election. In some districts, even the majority is not allowed to vote.

It is no longer known whether the slightly more significant proportion of those eligible to vote continues to be female. This is because the division into “women” and “men” was eliminated by the Electoral Law Amendment Act of 2022 – so that people who do not feel they belong to either gender or do not wish to indicate this can continue to vote in elections. The Ministry of the Interior table now only provides the regional breakdown (Länder, municipalities) and information on how many eligible voters have a residence abroad.