Jekyll2026-09-10T14:31:16+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates.xmlGERDA | UpdatesComprehensive dataset of local, state, federal, European, mayoral, and county election results in Germany, plus subnational public opinion estimates. Facilitating research on electoral behavior, representation, and political responsiveness. Umfassende Datenbank von: Bundestagswahlergebnissen, Landeswahlergebnissen, Kommunalwahlergebnissen, Europawahlergebnissen, Bürgermeisterwahlen und Kreistagswahlen in Deutschland, sowie subnationalen Meinungsschätzungen.Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannExcel downloads added for all tabular datasets on the download page2026-09-09T11:00:00+00:002026-09-09T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/excel-downloads-added-for-all-tabularExcel downloads added for all tabular datasets on the download page.

  • Excel files preserve geographic codes as text and display vote shares as percentages. CSV and RDS remain available.
  • Downloads now specify the filename and extension. New English and German instructions explain how to import CSV files in Excel 2019.
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas Wiedemann28 historical state elections added at constituency level; ltw_wkr_unharm now runs 1980–20262026-08-19T11:00:00+00:002026-08-19T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/28-historical-state-elections-added-at28 historical state elections added at constituency level; ltw_wkr_unharm now runs 1980–2026.

  • Added: Saarland 1980–2017 (nine elections), Berlin 1999–2011 and 2021, Baden-Württemberg 2001–2011, Bremen 2003–2011 and 2023, Bayern 2008 and 2013, Sachsen 2004 and 2009, Hessen 2009, Niedersachsen 2008, Schleswig-Holstein 2005. Coverage is now 103 elections; what is still missing and why is listed in the data repository’s docs/ltw_wkr_recoverability.md.
  • Eleven Baden-Württemberg 2001 constituencies sit on 2006 boundaries and carry flag_wkr_boundaries_recomputed = 1, like Hessen 2013.
  • Bremen 2003 and 2007 are the official preliminary results (no final Wahlbereich table was published). Berlin 2021 is the election as held; the 2023 repeat is a separate election year.
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannTurnout corrected in four states, and Hessen 2013 and 2018 added at constituency level2026-08-18T11:00:00+00:002026-08-18T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/turnout-corrected-in-four-states-andTurnout corrected in four states, and Hessen 2013 and 2018 added at constituency level.

  • State elections at municipality level: turnout was understated in Sachsen-Anhalt 1990–2016, Sachsen 1990/1994/1999, Niedersachsen 2008–2022 and Brandenburg 2009 and 2019; party shares shift slightly too. Brandenburg 1990, 1994 and 1999 remain affected.
  • ltw_wkr_unharm now covers the Hessen Landtagswahlen of 2013 and 2018, both ballots, all 55 Wahlkreise.
  • New flag_wkr_boundaries_recomputed: 1 where the figures sit on a later election’s Wahlkreiseinteilung. Hessen 2013 only, except Frankfurt am Main I and IV.
  • Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern constituencies now carry names. wkr_name belongs to the election year, not the number, so join on (state, election_year, wkr_nr).
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannHessen mayors are now traceable across terms, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern reaches beyond the big cities2026-08-10T11:00:00+00:002026-08-10T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/hessen-mayors-are-now-traceable-acrossHessen mayors are now traceable across terms, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern reaches beyond the big cities.

  • mayor_panel follows Hessen mayors from term to term across the whole 1993–2026 series. Most carry a person_id but no name, because the source redacts them.
  • Mecklenburg-Vorpommern mayoral elections now include the amtsfreien Gemeinden of Landkreis Ludwigslust-Parchim, 2014–2023; five Landkreise are still outstanding. Parchim 2022 has no party for its candidates.
  • New flag_decisive_round_missing in mayoral_candidates: is_winner is NA for every candidate and the election contributes no mayor to mayor_panel. No rows currently carry it.
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannCorrected winners and turnout across the mayoral, Landrat and county datasets, plus new coverage2026-08-04T11:00:00+00:002026-08-04T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/corrected-winners-and-turnout-across-theCorrected winners and turnout across the mayoral, Landrat and county datasets, plus new coverage.

  • Winners changed in 104 Hessen runoff cycles and 8 Niedersachsen mayoral elections. Sachsen county valid_votes had held the invalid-ballot count, and Niedersachsen county turnout rises (2016: 54.9 % → 55.6 %).
  • New county elections: Sachsen 1994 and 1995, Thüringen 1994 and 1999, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 1994–2011, Nordrhein-Westfalen 2025 — the first and last Kreis-level only. Niedersachsen Gemeinderatswahlen now start in 1981.
  • Brandenburg mayoral elections now start in 2010, hauptamtliche Bürgermeister and Oberbürgermeister only; 2010–2013 is incomplete and rows sit on today’s municipal boundaries. Also new: Niedersachsen runoffs 2014/2016/2019 (no vote counts for 2019) and the 2017 elections, Schleswig-Holstein 2026, Sachsen-Anhalt Landrat through 2026.
  • New flag_partial_coverage in the harmonised county files: counts describe only part of the 2021 unit, while turnout and vote shares stay valid.
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannCounty elections: Rheinland-Pfalz added, Brandenburg restored2026-07-28T11:00:00+00:002026-07-28T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/county-elections-rheinlandpfalz-added-brandenburg-restoredCounty elections: Rheinland-Pfalz added, Brandenburg restored.

  • Rheinland-Pfalz Kreistagswahlen 1964–2019 are new, and Gemeinderatswahlen now start in 1969 rather than 1994, with council seats back to 1984. valid_votes counts ballots, and Gemeinden electing by Mehrheitswahl carry other = 1 instead of party shares. The 2024 Kommunalwahl is not yet included.
  • Brandenburg county elections 2003–2024, previously missing entirely, are now included, with pooled postal votes allocated to municipalities.
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannBayern councils 2026 · Hessen mayoral history · gerda 0.82026-07-27T11:00:00+00:002026-07-27T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/bayern-councils-2026-hessen-mayoral-historyBayern councils 2026 · Hessen mayoral history · gerda 0.8.

  • Bayern Gemeinde- and Stadtratswahlen 2026, all 2,056 Gemeinden, with council seats. For 2026 valid_votes counts ballots rather than cumulative votes; shares are unaffected.
  • Hessen mayoral and Landrat elections now cover 1993–2026. The office redacts candidate names; they appear only where our other sources supply them.
  • gerda 0.8: share_50to59_census22 and share_60plus_census22 renamed to match their actual bins (old names now error), deprecated federal_cty_unharm aliases removed. No dataset values changed.
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannCouncil seats (Sitze) added. seats_* columns in municipal_unharm wherever states report them (NA means no source; major parties only, so sea…2026-07-23T11:00:00+00:002026-07-23T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/council-seats-sitze-added-seats-columnsCouncil seats (Sitze) added. seats_* columns in municipal_unharm wherever states report them (NA means no source; major parties only, so seats do not sum to council size), and a new county_council_seats dataset covering 400 counties, 2008–2025. Also new: Bayern Kommunalwahl 2026 in county_elec_unharm.

]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannMayoral elections expanded from 7 to 13 states, adding Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Thüringen, Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Sachsen-Anhalt and…2026-07-21T11:00:00+00:002026-07-21T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/mayoral-elections-expanded-from-7-toMayoral elections expanded from 7 to 13 states, adding Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Thüringen, Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Sachsen-Anhalt and Hessen; Landrat elections now cover 11 states.

  • New flag_superseded marks Bayern rounds that did not seat a mayor — filter == FALSE for decisive rounds only.
  • Baden-Württemberg records no candidate party; Thüringen and Sachsen-Anhalt restrict candidate names.
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannWahlkreis-level election data, plus gerda 0.7.x. New datasets: Bundestag results for all 299 Wahlkreise (2002–2025, first and second votes…2026-07-15T11:00:00+00:002026-07-15T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/wahlkreislevel-election-data-plus-gerda-07xWahlkreis-level election data, plus gerda 0.7.x. New datasets: Bundestag results for all 299 Wahlkreise (2002–2025, first and second votes, Direktmandat winners) and Landtag elections at Wahlkreis level (1990–2026, all 16 states). The R package gains download retries and on-disk caching (cache = TRUE).

]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannBaden-Württemberg state & county elections, and Hessen 2026 council elections2026-06-27T11:00:00+00:002026-06-27T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/badenwrttemberg-state-county-elections-and-hessenBaden-Württemberg state & county elections, and Hessen 2026 council elections.

  • BW Landtagswahl 2026 (the first under the new two-vote system — GERDA records the Zweitstimme) and BW Kreistagswahl 2024 (the source reports no turnout fields).
  • BW Kreistag 2004–2019: waehlervereinigungen is now filled, so party shares sum to ~1.0. Named-party shares are unchanged.
  • Hessen councils 2026, municipal and county, with BSW as its own column. Hessen council votes are cumulative, so valid_votes counts votes rather than ballots.
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannMayoral elections: election-type classification refined for NRW, Bayern and Saarland; 2025 NRW Stichwahl results added2026-05-06T11:00:00+00:002026-05-06T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/mayoral-elections-electiontype-classification-refined-forMayoral elections: election-type classification refined for NRW, Bayern and Saarland; 2025 NRW Stichwahl results added.

New: Landrat elections — landrat_unharm, landrat_candidates. Directly elected heads of Landkreise, 1945–2026, 9 states, split out of the mayoral datasets.

]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannState elections: state_unharm, state_harm2026-04-19T11:00:00+00:002026-04-19T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/state-elections-stateunharm-stateharmState elections: state_unharm, state_harm

  • Fixed turnout above 100% caused by unallocated Briefwahl votes in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (1994–2011) and Schleswig-Holstein (2017/2022).
  • eligible_voters for Bayern 1994–2013 is now NA rather than 0 (the source has no turnout data for those years).
  • Added turnout safety flags (flag_harm_turnout_above_1) in harmonized data.
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannPython package: initial release of gerda on PyPI, a lightweight loader for GERDA datasets. Mirrors load_gerda_web, gerda_data_list and party…2026-04-19T10:00:00+00:002026-04-19T10:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/python-package-initial-release-of-gerdaPython package: initial release of gerda on PyPI, a lightweight loader for GERDA datasets. Mirrors load_gerda_web, gerda_data_list and party_crosswalk from the R package; covariate and Census merge helpers are not yet ported.

]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannState elections: Hamburg 2020 now uses Landesstimmen instead of Wahlkreislistenstimmen, consistent with all other Hamburg elections2026-04-10T11:00:00+00:002026-04-10T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/state-elections-hamburg-2020-now-usesState elections: Hamburg 2020 now uses Landesstimmen instead of Wahlkreislistenstimmen, consistent with all other Hamburg elections.

]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannFour new datasets, and a state-election rewrite2026-04-02T11:00:00+00:002026-04-02T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/four-new-datasets-and-a-stateelectionFour new datasets, and a state-election rewrite.

  • Mayoral elections — election-level and candidate-level data for 7 states, 1945–2025, plus a panel tracking individual mayors across terms.
  • County elections (Kreistagswahlen) — municipality and county level, harmonized to 2021 boundaries.
  • European elections — 2009–2024 at municipality level, harmonized to 2021 boundaries.
  • Meinungsbild — subnational opinion estimates for 43 policy issues via MRP, for states, electoral districts and counties.
  • State elections rewritten from the ground up: 34 additional elections (2006–2024) and harmonization to 2021, 2023 and 2025 boundaries.
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannMunicipality elections: municipal_unharm, municipal_harm2025-11-28T11:00:00+00:002025-11-28T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/municipality-elections-municipalunharm-municipalharmMunicipality elections: municipal_unharm, municipal_harm

  • Corrected issues in Schleswig-Holstein 1998 and Rhineland-Palatinate 1999 municipal election data
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannState elections: state_unharm, state_harm2025-11-21T11:00:00+00:002025-11-21T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/state-elections-stateunharm-stateharmState elections: state_unharm, state_harm

  • Added state election data to include state elections in 2022 (Niedersachsen) and 2023 (Bavaria and Hessen)
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannFederal elections: federal_muni_raw, federal_muni_unharm, federal_muni_harm2025-11-20T11:00:00+00:002025-11-20T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/federal-elections-federalmuniraw-federalmuniunharm-federalmuniharmFederal elections: federal_muni_raw, federal_muni_unharm, federal_muni_harm

  • Resolved issue in harmonized federal election data at municipality level where some municipalities entered with 0 vote shares for 2021 or 2025 depending on the dataset
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannCovariate panel data: ags_area_pop_emp_20232025-10-09T11:00:00+00:002025-10-09T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/covariate-panel-data-agsareapopemp2023Covariate panel data: ags_area_pop_emp_2023

  • Updated covariate panel data to period 1990-2023
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannFederal elections: federal_cty_unharm, federal_cty_harm2025-07-31T11:00:00+00:002025-07-31T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/federal-elections-federalctyunharm-federalctyharmFederal elections: federal_cty_unharm, federal_cty_harm

  • Removed minor error: Berlin was sometimes duplicated due to two different county ags. Now aggregated to one ags for Berlin for each election year
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannFederal elections2025-05-20T11:00:00+00:002025-05-20T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/federal-electionsFederal elections

  • Updated federal election datasets to include 2025 elections
  • Create two versions of the harmonized panel:
    • 2021 borders: All elections (1990-2025) mapped to 2021 municipality boundaries
    • 2025 borders: All elections (1990-2025) mapped to 2025 municipality boundaries
  • Created our own crosswalks based on official crosswalking data from the BBSR
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannFederal and state elections2025-04-22T11:00:00+00:002025-04-22T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/federal-and-state-electionsFederal and state elections

  • Added election dates for federal and state elections based on election type and date combinations
]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas WiedemannPublication of database on Nature: Scientific Data2025-04-14T11:00:00+00:002025-04-14T11:00:00+00:00https://german-elections.com/updates/publication-of-database-on-nature-scientificPublication of database on Nature: Scientific Data

]]>Hanno Hilbig, Vincent Heddesheimer, Florian Sichart, Andreas Wiedemann