The Wahl-O-Mat starts three and a half weeks before the Bavarian state elections. But the platform is by no means the only offering.
Undecided voters in Bavaria can now use the Wahl-O-Mat to help them decide on the state elections on October 8th. The website of the Federal Agency for Civic Education was activated today.
Those interested can answer 38 questions from various subject areas and thus compare which party agrees with their political ideas. The Wahl-O-Mat also calculates the degree of agreement with the selected parties running in the election in the Free State based on a personal focus.
The Wahl-O-Mate has been around since 2002, since then it has been used in elections to the European Parliament, state and federal elections and has been played over 110 million times. In the run-up to the 2018 state elections in Bavaria, the Wahl-O-Mat was used around 2.8 million times. This year, among other things, he is asking whether VAT on food should be reduced, whether there should be longer opening hours, more social housing or fewer radio programs.
Even more decision-making aids
Other platforms also offer online decision-making assistance for state elections, for example gesetzenwatch.de with the candidate check. Those interested can either agree or reject 16 theses, for example: “The ban on dancing on quiet holidays (e.g. Good Friday or All Saints’ Day) should be maintained.”
Candidates from the constituencies can also respond to these theses – afterward, parliamentenwatch.de shows the agreement with the individual candidates in their own constituency.
Other providers focus on specific subject areas, such as the PflegOMat from the German Professional Association for Nursing Professions. There are nursing policy theses to choose from here, including: “In order to counteract the shortage of nursing staff, the framework conditions such as staffing ratios and work-life balance must be improved. This also includes a gross starting basic salary of at least €4,000.”
The Bitkomat of the digital association Bitkom, on the other hand, focuses on digital policy and wants a clear opinion from those interested, for example on the thesis: “Computer science should be introduced as a compulsory subject in all secondary schools from grade 5 onwards.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
