Do you already know who will get your vote in the federal elections on September 26th? If not: Wahl-O-Mat and other offers could help with the decision.
What should i choose? Which party stands for what? These questions are currently bothering countless Germans. Because there are many topics that are argued and discussed in Germany: climate protection, for example. Or mobility. Last but not least, how to deal with the corona pandemic. The voters will decide who should look for solutions in the coming years: on September 26th in the federal election in 2021. The positions represented by the individual parties are on the one hand in their programs. Answers to the pressing questions can also be found in shortened form for individual theses in the Wahl-O-Mat of the Federal Agency for Civic Education, which is intended to make voting easier. The application will be available from September 2nd as an app or.
How does the Wahl-O-Mat 2021 work?
The users are presented with various positions on current topics, which are answered with “agree”, “disagree” or “neutral”. Skipping is also possible. Topics that seem particularly important can be marked. These are rated twice. In the last step, the users decide on the parties that should be taken into account in the evaluation.
Based on the answers and the selected priorities, the Wahl-O-Mat finally determines which party fits best. In the event of decision-making difficulties, the respective statements of the parties on the individual theses can help afterwards.
These are the pitfalls of Wahl-O-Mat
Subject complexes are often reduced to a single thesis. In addition, the small parties in particular may concentrate on one or two core issues. If exactly these issues are important to the voter, there is a consensus. Other – equally significant – topics are then ignored because the parties in Wahl-O-Mat take an officially neutral position.
Alternative apps for decision making
In addition to the “Wahl-O-Mat”, there are other apps and websites that should help the undecided in making a decision about the cross in the voting booth:
Choice compass
The Wahl-Kompass was developed at the University of Münster and is intended to offer the undecided a scientific decision-making aid. According to the university, election campaign issues are divided into two areas: “On the longitudinal axis, a distinction is made between progressive-ecological and conservative-traditional positions. The transverse axis distinguishes between positions that either focus on greater redistribution or greater personal responsibility,” it says . 30 theses have to be answered, after which the electoral compass calculates an individual political position. This can be compared with those of the parties. In addition, a ranking is calculated that shows the percentage agreement with the parties. .
WahlSwiper
Application developed in the style of the dating app “Tinder” in which users can express their opinion on various theses by swiping a swipe. The difference to Wahl-O-Mat: Not all parties are represented in the analysis that will win votes in the federal election. In addition, there is no answer option “neutral”. The project was initiated in 2017 by the Movact agency, and there is now a cooperation with the University of Freiburg. Available for Android and iOS in the respective app stores or in the browser at.
DeinWal.de
The portal, which was initiated and operated by three private individuals, takes a completely different approach . From the actual votes in the Bundestag during the current legislative period, the trio behind the offer has broken down questions on different topics to which the user answers with “yes” or “no”. An abstention is also possible. The subsequent evaluation shows which party voted in most cases and how you voted. Actual decisions instead of non-binding election promises. The only catch: the positions of smaller parties are missing because they were not represented in parliament in the last legislative period.
Decision-making aids with a special focus on topics
In addition to the “general offers”, there are also online decision-making aids that focus on a specific topic. For example:
(Climate protection and climate change, initiated by the Climate Alliance, Nabu and the German Zero Association)
(Equal rights, anti-racism, inclusion, feminism, offered by the #stattblumen initiative)
(Social issues, provided by Diakonie Deutschland)
(Agricultural topics, provided by the specialist portal “Agrar heute”
(Tax policy, offered by the Institute of German Economy in Cologne and the Smartsteuer company)
In the video: This is how postal voting works in Germany.
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