General Right to Vote
Constitution:
(1998)
• Article 38, section (2) states, "Anyone who has attained the age of eighteen years is entitled to vote; anyone who has attained majority is eligible for election."

Exclusion Based on Mental Disability
Electoral Law:
(1997: Federal Electoral Law)
• Article 1 section (1) states: "The German Bundestag shall…be elected in a general, direct, free, equal and secret ballot by Germans eligible to vote…"
• Article 13 states "A person shall be disqualified from voting if (1) he or she is not eligible to vote owing to a judicial decision, (2) a custodian has been appointed not only through a restraining order to attend to all his or her affairs; this also applies when the custodian's sphere of duties does not include the affairs set forth in Article 1896(4) and Article 1905 of the Civil Code, (3) he or she is accommodated in a psychiatric hospital under an order pursuant to Article 63 of the Penal Code."

Voter Assistance By Other Citizens
Electoral Law:
(1997: Federal Electoral Law)
• Article 33 section (2) states: "A voter…who due to a physical handicap is prevented from marking the ballot paper, from placing it in the envelope, from handling the envelope over to the Electoral Officer or from placing it into the ballot box himself or herself may be aided by another person."
• Article 36 concerns "Postal Ballot." Section (2) states: "The over or the person assisting him or her must indicate on the polling card that he or she gives an assurance in lieu of an oath to the District Returning Officer that the ballot paper has been marked either personally or in accordance wit the declared intent of the voter. The District Returning Officer shall be responsible for accepting such an assurance in lieu of an oath; he or she shall be considered an authority within the meaning of Article 156 of the Penal Code."