Hamburg Constitutional Court Rejects Basic Income Referendum Appeal
The Hamburg Constitutional Court ruled on October 2, 2026, under file number HVerfG 10/25, that the rejected Volksentscheid regarding an unconditional basic income will not be held again. While the court acknowledged rule violations by the governing factions of the SPD and the Greens concerning the requirement of objectivity, it dismissed all petitions from the initiators in their entirety on the grounds that these violations were not weighty enough to invalidate the vote.
The initiative, titled “Hamburg testet Grundeinkommen,” previously marked the first state-level model project for a basic income submitted to a popular vote in Germany. The proposal intended to equip 2,000 randomly selected residents of Hamburg with a basic income for three years, set at 1,346 euros per month for the year 2025 plus health insurance coverage, with personal incomes factored in. On October 12, 2025, voters decisively rejected the measure, with 62.7 percent voting against it and only 37.3 percent voting in favor, accompanied by a voter turnout of 43.7 percent.
Disputed Campaign Materials and Senate Neutrality
Following the defeat, the initiators challenged the validity of the vote on three primary grounds. They argued that information booklets were mailed eight days before poster campaigns could legally start without a permit, that Finance Senator Andreas Dressel alongside other Senate members violated neutrality rules by campaigning against the project, and that the governing SPD and Greens made false claims in their official statements enclosed with the voting papers. The Hamburg Constitutional Court dismissed the complaints regarding the mailing dates of the information brochure and the statements made by government officials acting in a party-political capacity.
Court President Birgit Voßkühler explained during the verdict that the statements made by senators did not violate neutrality or objectivity duties because they were not issued in an official capacity. Officials like Finance Senator Dressel explicitly spoke as SPD party politicians. The court determined that the Senate’s administrative role in running the referendum did not strip its members of their right to comment on the proposal, provided they maintained the principle of objectivity.
Objectivity Breaches and Project Cost Estimates
The court did uphold the complaint regarding the official information booklet in part, agreeing that the governing SPD and Green factions breached the objectivity requirement in several instances. However, Voßkühler stated that these procedural flaws did not outweigh the public interest in preserving the election result. Specifically, the factions claimed in the voting booklet that the project would cost at least 46 million euros. The court found this figure objectively incorrect and incomprehensible, noting that the draft bill itself designated 46 million euros as the absolute maximum sum, while realistic costs were calculated at roughly 36 million euros.
Future Outlook and Next Steps for the Initiative
Despite the legal defeat, applicant Otto Lüdemann characterized the outcome as a partial success on the path toward implementing a basic income. Lüdemann pointed out that while a similar Swiss basic income referendum garnered 23 percent support in 2016, the Hamburg model project achieved 37 percent backing in 2025.
