With the second vote, voters decide through proportional representation how many seats a party receives in parliament. First, seats are filled by the constituency winners elected through the first vote. If there are still seats remaining, candidates from the state party list may enter parliament in order until all seats have been allocated.

The second vote is cast directly for a party and cannot be used to change the party’s composition or election program. It is simply considered as approval or rejection of the party’s plans for the respective election. Only the first vote allows voters to choose candidates directly.