Application for a referendum

The petition for a referendum (sometimes also: petition for approval of the referendum ) is an instrument of direct democracy in Germany . In most federal states, it is the first step in the overall referendum procedure and, if successful, serves to initiate the referendum . In order to make an application for a referendum successful, a certain number of signatures from eligible voters must be collected within a certain period of time. The exact design of the procedure varies from state to state.

The role of the motion for a referendum in the referendum

In most federal states , a petition for a referendum is the first step in the overall referendum procedure (2nd step referendum , 3rd step referendum ). In the federal states of Brandenburg , Hamburg , Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein , on the other hand, the indirect popular initiative is the first step and completely replaces the application process . In the federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt, both instruments exist side by side and can each be used as an introductory procedure for a referendum.

In principle, some form of application must be submitted in all federal states for the registration of a referendum, i.e. also in the federal states in which a popular initiative is the first step in the overall process. The petition for a referendum dealt with in this article is characterized by the fact that it explicitly requires the collection of the signatures of citizens entitled to vote. In the federal states with an indirect popular initiative, on the other hand, only one application form actually needs to be filled in and personally signed by the 3–5 officially known initiators of the citizens' initiative as written evidence for the administration; It is therefore not a question of the direct democratic instrument described in this article, but merely an administrative process.

Difference between application and popular initiative

There are three main differences between a petition for a referendum and a popular initiative . As its name suggests, the "application" only serves to initiate a referendum. Accordingly, the political submission formulated in it must meet all formal and legal requirements that are made to a referendum in the respective federal state (e.g. that a bill must be included). A popular initiative, on the other hand, is a broader instrument that enables citizens to put very general political issues (such as a mere resolution) on the political agenda.

The second essential difference is derived from this. A successful popular initiative is always dealt with in parliament. An application for a referendum , however, is usually only checked by the competent authority in the respective federal state for its formal and legal admissibility. Only in Berlin can a successful motion for a referendum also be discussed in the plenum of the House of Representatives.

Finally, in the case of a petition for a referendum, the submission contained can often no longer be changed before the referendum begins. As a rule, minor changes can be made to a popular initiative, provided that the essence of the template contained therein is not affected.

If it is already clear to the initiators at the beginning of the procedure that they are aiming for a change in the law by means of a referendum, the initiation of a referendum on an application tends to offer more advantages. This is a little more inflexible in terms of content and deliberative content, but the sometimes significantly lower signature hurdles make it easier to handle. The motion for a referendum can thus act as an important milestone for the initiators, which enables them to test both their own campaigning ability with regard to the entire referendum and the public reaction to the proposal. The application thus takes on the character of a "test balloon" which - in contrast to the much more expensive popular initiative - exposes hopeless popular initiatives at an early stage and can thus prevent additional financial and personnel expenses both for the initiators and for the state.

See also : Volksinitiative (Germany)

Conditions of use

In addition to a quorum of signatures and a deadline, the petition for a referendum is subject to a number of other restrictions.

Topic exclusion

In principle, the subject of the "application" must fall within the competence of the relevant regional authority . For example, the submission contained in the "application" in a federal state cannot aim to amend a federal law. In addition, it must not contradict the free-democratic basic order of the Federal Republic of Germany or the constitutional order of the respective federal state. An "application", for example to introduce the death penalty or to abolish the state constitutional court, is therefore in any case inadmissible.

In addition to these general restrictions resulting from the basic democratic order, other topics are excluded from a referendum in some federal states - and thus automatically also from the petition for a referendum . These mostly include the household , salaries and pensions as well as state taxes .

Registration option

In order to support the petition for a referendum in Germany , citizens who are entitled to vote must personally enter their name, address and signature, sometimes also with the date of birth and / or the date of signature on the relevant forms . Only physically handicapped persons or those otherwise prevented from signing by hand may delegate the entry in the form to someone. In order to check the eligibility of the undersigned to vote, the information is compared with the municipal registration registers . The forms will be destroyed after the end of the procedure, regardless of the outcome.

The specifications for the design of the forms, which information must be included and whether only one person per form (signature sheet) or several persons per form (signature list) can be entered, differ significantly depending on the regional authority. The initiators of the "application" are responsible for the correct design of the forms.

Procedural costs

The costs for the production and, if necessary (for official registration) distribution of the forms to the registration offices, are borne by the initiators of the procedure. All other expenses (comparison with registration registers, examination and notification) are borne by the state treasury.

Process closure

A successful application for a referendum is concluded with the admission test by the responsible body. It is checked whether the required number of signatures is available and whether the application is formally and legally admissible. The responsible body is usually given a period of several months for this. If the "application" was found to be admissible, the initiators must initiate the referendum within a further period of usually a few months. If they fail to do so, the "application" is virtually forfeited and can no longer be used to initiate a referendum at a later date.

If a petition for a referendum is found to be inadmissible, the initiators usually have to file a complaint against the respective constitutional court. In some federal states (e.g. Thuringia) a kind of "reversal of the burden of proof" applies here. This means that it may be the responsibility of the state government or the state parliament to appeal to the constitutional court if necessary in order to actually stop an "application" that is deemed inadmissible for reasons of content.

Framework conditions in Germany

Framework conditions for the application for a referendum in the Federal Republic of Germany
general		Application for a referendum
Local authority	regulated in	Quorum of signatures	Deadline / type of entry	Topic exclusion	is checked by
Baden-Württemberg	Art. 59 and 60 of the state constitution ; Sections 25–29 of the Referendum Act	10,000	no deadline for official registration	Tax laws, salary laws , state budget law	Home Office
Bavaria	Art. 71, 72 and 74 of the state constitution ; Art. 63–64 (PDF; 183 kB) of the state election law	25,000	no deadline free collection	State budget	State Ministry of the Interior
	→ Main article : People's legislation in Bavaria
Berlin	Art. 59, 62, 63 of the state constitution ; Sections 14–19 of the Voting Act	20,000 (50,000 for constitutional amendments)	6 months retrospectively from submitting the Free Collection	State budget law, taxes, tariffs of public companies, personnel decisions	Senate Department for the Interior
	→ Main article : People's legislation in Berlin
Bremen	Sections 10–13 of the Act on the Procedure for Referendums	5,000	no deadline Free collection	Budget, salaries, taxes, duties, fees	senate
Hesse	Sections 1–5 of the Popular Petition Act	2%	no deadline for official registration	Budget, tax laws, salary regulations, constitutional amendments	State government
Lower Saxony	Art. 48 of the state constitution ; Sections 19–20 of the Referendum Act; Section 62d of the state parliament's rules of procedure	25,000	6 months free collection	State budget, public taxes, salaries and pensions	State government
North Rhine-Westphalia	Art. 2, 68 and 69 of the state constitution ; §§ 6–10 of the VIVBVEG; Sections 2–8 of the VIVBVEG Implementing Ordinance	3,000	1 year retrospective from filing official registration	Financial issues, tax laws, pay regulations	Ministry of the Interior (checks), state government (decides)
Rhineland-Palatinate	Art. 107–109 of the state constitution ; Sections 61–64 of the State Election Act; §§ 75 of the state election regulations	20,000	1 year retrospective from filing official registration	Financial issues, tax laws, pay regulations	State government
Saarland	Art. 61, 99 and 100 of the state constitution ; §§ 2–5 of the Referendum Act; §§ 1–7 of the referendum regulations	5,000	6 months retroactive from filing official registration	financially effective laws, taxes, salaries, state benefits, state budget, constitutional amendments	Ministry of the Interior
Saxony-Anhalt	Article 81 of the state constitution ; Sections 10–11 (PDF; 44 kB) of the Referendum Act	8,000	no deadline Free collection	Budget laws, tax laws, salary regulations	State government
Thuringia	Art. 81 and 82 (PDF; 6.1 MB) of the state constitution ; Sections 9–13 of the Act on Procedure for Citizens' Applications, Referendums and Referendums	5,000	6 weeks free collection	State budget, salaries and pensions, taxes and personnel decisions	President of the State Parliament
Federal Republic of Germany	Article 29 of the Basic Law; Sections 19–26 of the law on the procedure for referendums, referendums and referendums in accordance with Article 29, Paragraph 6 of the Basic Law; Sections 46–52 of the restructuring implementation ordinance	min. 1%, max. but 7,000	1 month free collection	All questions are excluded except for a reorganization of the federal territory	Federal Minister of the Interior

Individual evidence

1. ↑ A successful petition for a referendum can be dealt with by the House of Representatives in plenary. In addition, the initiators have the opportunity to adapt the content before the start of the actual referendum if this does not affect the essence of the proposal.
2. ↑ The petition for a referendum is integrated into the actual referendum. It must be submitted within 6 months of the start of the collection and with the submission of 25,000 signatures. If this is done and the referendum is found admissible, the collection can be continued. Otherwise the referendum is deemed to have been settled. This arrangement, which is between two-tier and three-tier national legislation, is unique in Germany.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Alternatively, a referendum can also be initiated via ^a popular initiative. However, the quorum of signatures required for this is higher than for a petition for a referendum .
4. ↑ The formulation in the Saarland constitution is the most restrictive in Germany. In fact, all plebiscites are inadmissible that would have any financial impact, including legislative proposals that would result in savings.

See also

• European citizens' initiative