114. Participating in democratic elections in Germany is …

Answer options

1. a duty.
2. a right.
3. a compulsion.
4. a burden.

Explanation

In Germany, participation in elections is not a legal duty or any form of compulsion, but a subjective public right equivalent to a fundamental right (Article 38(1) Basic Law; for Länder and municipalities Article 28(1)), grounded in the democracy principle of Article 20(2). The freedom of the vote is understood to include the freedom to abstain; a statutory duty to vote would conflict with the requirement of free elections and is therefore not practiced. Casting a ballot is an act of political participation (status activus), not a “burden,” even if civic norms encourage turnout.