I have voted in every German election I was eligible to in the past 30 years, using fancy technology called “paper”, “pencil” and sometimes “envelope”. It’s never taken me longer than 10 minutes. 20 if you include the walk to the voting place.

Comparing German and US elections is comparing oranges and apples... in US elections people also have to decide about propositions, so a ballot can contain 10, 20 or more items to cast a vote on. They’re also plebiscites.

I vote by mail, from home, in the US. Lots of local and state issues, simultaneous with our congressional representatives. For my own sense, to research adequately takes me 2-4 hours, with ballot in hand, even though I've heard all the propaganda leading up to the election.

In Switzerland, we get the ballots by mail about a month prior to voting / election day. Everyone can choose whether to vote by mail or to show up personally. We vote 4 times a year on tons of referenda / initiatives, too, on all 3 levels (country, state, community).