The Electoral Law of Germany after the Constitutional Court Decision of 2024
Continuity and Change in Personalized Proportional Representation
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Abstract
In July 2024, Germany's Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the new electoral law, reformed in 2023, is by and large in line with the Constitution. The Court also mandated some adjustments. This came after a decades-long search for electoral reform in a highly contested political process. The history of Germany's electoral law since 1949 shows that conflicts between the parties have been present from the outset, even though the law has been seen as a good combination of different electoral systems. The detailed description of the new electoral law in this article provides the basis for a discussion showing that the new law does not fundamentally alter the logic of representation in Germany and that conflicts in the process may have adverse effects on political trust.
Contributor Notes
Sven T. Siefken is a Professor of Political Science at the Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences in Bruehl, Germany. He is also a Visiting Professor at Colorado College and Visiting Lecturer at the Hertie School in Berlin. Siefken is Vice-Chair of the ipsa Research Committee of Legislative Specialists and an editor of the journal Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen. His current work examines coalition politics, parliaments in crises, the legislative process, and the future of democratic representation.