Wahl-O-Mat starts – this is how it works and these alternatives are available

On June 9th, Europe will elect the EU Parliament. But no matter how important the election is, voters often only have a peripheral idea of ​​what political positions the parties are promoting. In order to simplify a decision and thus motivate people to vote, the European elections start on Tuesday. The tool is provided by the Federal Agency for Civic Education (BpB) and gives those interested the opportunity to find out with simple questions which party has the greatest similarities.

Wahl-O-Mat for the European elections starts – 38 theses can make the decision easier for voters

The way the Wahl-O-Mat works is tried and tested and is very popular during state, federal and European elections. This year, a total of 35 parties were admitted to the election; in addition to big names such as the CDU, SPD, Greens and FDP, a number of small parties are also vying for voters’ votes. The smaller associations benefit from the fact that there is no five percent hurdle in the EU elections and so they have a greater chance of entering parliament.

As in previous years, the Wahl-O-Mat is based on fundamental questions and theses, which voters can answer with “agree”, “disagree”, “neutral” and “skip thesis”. The tool includes 38 questions about the current election. Topics that are particularly important to voters can be given special weight by marking them. This year, asylum policy, international conflicts and climate protection are likely to be the focus of many parties.

Experts emphasize: Wahl-O-Mat is only a decision-making aid – criticism from major competitors

The developers of the Wahl-O-Mat repeatedly emphasize that their tool is in no way intended to provide a voting recommendation, but rather only act as an aid. Experts have often criticized in the past that the very detailed breakdown of the overlaps could indirectly encourage people to vote for a party, even if some views may differ fundamentally.

Further criticism comes from what is probably the Wahl-O-Mat’s biggest “competitor”: In the past elections, the “Wahlswiper” tool was very popular as an alternative. The special thing about the non-governmental provider: In an app you could answer the theses about the respective choice with a simple swipe in the direction of “yes” or “no”. The project arose from a collaboration between the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg and other universities and organizations, including the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung and the United Nations Society Nürnberg eV. The Wahl-O-Mat was used in this European election -The alternative, however, was ignored by some parties in the Bundestag. “After seven years of good cooperation, the Bundestag parties CDU, CSU, SPD, Greens, Left and FDP have agreed with each other and boycotted all of our questions,” explained Matthias Bannert, the Wahlswiper project manager, as “Der Westen” reports.

It is a remarkable attitude of the Union, SPD, Greens, FDP and Left to want to decide which election aid tools should be available and which should not. In addition, it is regrettable that these parties do not want to transparently answer the questions “that we ask on behalf of our millions of users,” continued Bannert.

But fans of the Wahlswiper don’t have to do without completely. The developers condensed the parties’ presumed answers from the party programs and speeches of the politicians of the respective parties.

Other alternatives include the “Sozial-O-Mat” with a special focus on socio-political issues and the “Election Test” in which users do not answer questions but make political decisions independently. We then break down which party would have made a similar decision.

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