Bundesrat of Germany - Voting

Voting

Germany
This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
Germany
Constitution
  • Constitution
  • Human rights
Executive
  • President
    • Joachim Gauck
  • Chancellor
    • Angela Merkel
  • Cabinet
Legislature
  • Federal Convention
    (Bundesversammlung)
  • Federal Council
    (Bundesrat)
  • Federal Diet
    (Bundestag)
  • Joint Committee
    (Gemeinsamer Ausschuss)
Judiciary
  • Judiciary
  • Federal courts
    • Constitutional Court
    • Administrative Court
    • Court of Justice
    • Finance Court
    • Labor Court
    • Social court
Divisions
  • States (Länder)
  • Administrative regions
    (Regierungsbezirke)
  • Districts (Kreise)
  • Collective municipalities
  • Municipalities (Gemeinden)
Elections
  • Elections
  • Political parties
Foreign policy
  • Foreign relations
  • European Union politics
  • Other countries
  • Atlas

Politics portal

In contrast to many other legislative bodies, the delegates to the Bundesrat from any one state are required to cast the votes of the state as a single bloc (since the votes are not those of the respective delegate). If the members of a delegation cast different votes then the entire vote of the respective state is invalid.

The delegates of a state are equal to one other, in the Bundesrat, hence the minister-president has no special rights compared to his ministers. But it is possible (and even customary) that one of the delegates (the Stimmführer, "leader of the votes" — normally the minister-president) casts all votes of the respective state, even if the other members of the delegation are present.

Because coalition governments are common, states frequently choose to abstain if their coalition cannot agree on a position. As every decision of the Bundesrat requires an absolute majority of the votes of all states, abstaining has the same effect as voting against a proposal.

Between 1949 and 1990, West Berlin was represented by four members, elected by its Senate, but owing to the city's ambiguous legal status, they did not have voting rights.

Read more about this topic:  Bundesrat Of Germany

Famous quotes containing the word voting:

    “Common sense should tell us that reading is the ultimate weapon—destroying ignorance, poverty and despair before they can destroy us. A nation that doesn’t read much doesn’t know much. And a nation that doesn’t know much is more likely to make poor choices in the home, the marketplace, the jury box and the voting booth...The challenge, therefore, is to convince future generations of children that carrying a book is more rewarding than carrying guns.”
    —Jim Trelease (20th century)

    “It’s not the voting that’s democracy, it’s the counting.”
    —Tom Stoppard (b. 1937)

    “Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)