Upcoming European and local voting processes. - Voting participation in Saxony equivalent to 2019 levels.
In Germany's Saxony region, the three major cities experienced an increase in voter turnout in the afternoon. By 2 PM, 53% of voters in Dresden had cast their ballots, which was 8.2% more than in 2019 when it was only 44.8%. However, the mail-in votes had already been tallied. In Leipzig, the largest city in Saxony, 52.3% had voted six hours after the polls opened, higher than the 42.2% who voted in 2015. In Chemnitz, as per the city's declaration, the voter turnout was 40.2% by 2 PM, representing a 4-point increase from five years ago.
Voters in Saxony were called to vote for the European Parliament and their local councils. The polling stations started accepting votes at 8 AM. A total of 3.3 million people in the area were eligible to vote, and could do so at approximately 3,600 polling centers from Sunday morning until 6 PM.
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Despite the EU and European elections taking place in Saxony, voter turnout in Kamenz, a municipality in the region, remained stagnant, with only 41.7% of eligible voters participating. The overall voter turnout in Saxony for the European elections was slightly higher than the local elections, reaching 25.4%, still falling short of the participation rates seen in major cities like Dresden and Leipzig. These lower turnout rates in the European elections contrasted with the increased voter participation in municipal elections held concurrently, highlighting the different levels of interest and engagement among voters in various political processes.
