Regensburg Hands 29,000 Voters a Postal Ballot to Fill a Council That Speaks for Two in Five Residents
Published on 11/04/2026 at 05:30 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Regensburg has opened voting for the foreign-resident group of its Integrationsbeirat — the city's integration advisory council — and the entire process is being conducted by post. Ballot papers are being mailed out automatically to everyone entitled to vote, with no polling stations involved.
Roughly 29,000 people in the city are eligible to take part. The body they are electing carries a substantial brief: it advises and mediates across city society and represents about 40% of the population.
Three slates, 44 names
Voters face a choice of three separate lists, carrying a combined 44 candidates.
The slate "Brücke – Vielfalt Verbindet Menschen" ("Bridge – Diversity Connects People") fields 17 people drawn from ten different nationalities. "Mosaik" ("Mosaic") puts forward 13 candidates from seven nationalities. The third proposal, "International für Regensburg", lists 14 people from eight countries of origin — among them, at position 7, a candidate carrying list number 307.
Who may vote, and what is at stake
The franchise extends to foreign nationals aged at least 18 who have had their main residence in Regensburg's city area for a minimum of two months. Eleven seats with voting rights are being filled. Each eligible voter may cast up to eleven votes, distributing them among the candidates as they choose. A council term normally runs six years.
Other cities running parallel exercises
Regensburg is one of several German municipalities using advisory councils to give migrant communities a voice in local affairs where the regular municipal franchise does not reach them.
Munich goes to the polls on 22.11.2026 to renew its Migrationsbeirat. Some 420,000 residents there will decide on 40 voluntary seats representing close to 800,000 people with a migration background, choosing from 28 lists in the Bavarian capital.
German citizens who also hold a foreign passport, along with people naturalised for fewer than twelve years, may apply until 6.11. to be entered on the electoral register. Online applications for a postal vote — in which up to 40 votes can be allocated — remain open until 16.11. at 11:00. Papers can be collected in person until 20.11. at 12:00, and completed postal ballots must arrive by 22.11. at 18:00. The city's election office answers queries on 233-96233.
Rhineland-Palatinate is running its own versions. In Neuwied, the postal-voting office opened as early as October for the election of the Beirat für Migration und Integration, with the actual voting day set for 10 November. Residents there are simultaneously deciding the representation for the entire Neuwied district, and the postal-voting facility has been set up in the city administration's own building.
