section_path: Turnout
section_name: Turnout
paragraph_text: Turnout
  
  By 14:00 local time, early estimates from German election officials indicated that voter turnout was higher this year compared to 2021. 52% of eligible voters had already cast their ballots, excluding mail-in votes. In contrast, at the same point in 2021, the turnout was 36.5%. The results are not directly comparable with those of 2021 because more voters voted by absentee ballot in 2021 due to COVID-19.
  
  In recent German federal elections, including the 2025 election, voter turnout has shown significant regional variations. Participation rates have traditionally been higher in western states such as Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, while lower in eastern states like in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. However, the 2025 election registred an increase of voter participation in the east, particularly in areas where the AfD gained support. Certain regions, mostly in eastern Germany, experienced exceptional surges in voter participation. In Thuringia, turnout by 12:00 PM reached 44.5%, nearly doubling the figure from the same time in the previous election. Similar upward trends were observed in Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt, where midday turnout stood at 33% and 37.1%, respectively, both unusually high for these regions.