Editing Early voting (section)

===Germany===
{{See also|Elections in Germany|Federal Returning Officer}}
Germany does not have in-person early voting, but allows all eligible voters to vote by mail.<ref name=Heinmaa/> Voting by mail was adopted in [[West Germany]] beginning in 1957, but was originally a method mostly used for those with a particular reason preventing them from casting an in-person ballot.<ref name=Schultheis>Emily Schultheis, [https://www.politico.eu/article/postal-voting-germany-election-campaign/ 'Every day is election day.' Rise in postal voting shifts German campaign dynamics], ''Politico.eu'' (August 18, 2021).</ref> The proportion of German voters casting postal ballots has steadily increased since the 1990 [[reunification of Germany]], and the excuse requirement was eliminated in 2008.<ref name=Schultheis/> In the [[2005 German federal election]], 19% of all voters voted early.<ref>[http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/bundestagswahl2005/downloads/Heft_5.pdf Der Bundeswahlleiter: Wahl zum 16. Deutschen Bundestag am 18. September 2005, Heft 5: Textliche Auswertung der Wahlergebnisse] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225194921/http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/bundestagswahl2005/downloads/Heft_5.pdf |date=February 25, 2007 }}, page 38, table 15 (in German)</ref> In the [[2017 German federal election]], a then-record 28.6% of voters cast ballots by mail.<ref name=Schultheis/> In the [[2021 German federal election]], 47.3% of voters cast ballots by mail, setting a new record.<ref>Jasmin Fitzpatrick & Paula Jöst, [https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2022.876476/full "The High Mass of Democracy" —Why Germany Remains Aloof to the Idea of Electronic Voting], ''Frontiers in Political Science'' (2022).</ref>