{"id":9419,"date":"2021-04-07T11:57:04","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T09:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/?p=9419"},"modified":"2021-07-15T12:14:07","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T10:14:07","slug":"virtual-elections-in-parties-legal-basics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.polyas.de\/blog\/en\/polyas\/virtual-elections-in-parties-legal-basics","title":{"rendered":"Virtual elections in parties: Legal basics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Postal elections are experiencing a breakthrough. The pandemic means that growing numbers of people are in favor of postal voting. However, there is an alternative: Virtual elections such as digital membership polling in parties. In this blog post, we outline the legal situation with virtual elections and the opportunities that arise for parties.<\/p>\n

The breakthrough for postal voting<\/h3>\n

On March 14, 2021, a new state parliament was elected in the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg, and many of the electorate opted for postal voting. A trend is emerging: Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, the demand for postal votes has risen continuously. Originally, postal votes in political elections were intended to be a supplement to the ballot box. The aim is to increase voter turnout through greater flexibility in voting. Eligible voters can cast their votes before the actual election day and do not have to visit their polling station.<\/p>\n

Learn more about the security of online voting compared to postal voting ><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Postal voting after virtual voting<\/h3>\n

In March 2020, Germany introduced a special law for combating pandemics. The law aims to help companies stay in business. They are permitted to hold virtual meetings and elections of any kind.<\/p>\n

For example, a board election can be conducted by virtual election, but for legal reasons it must subsequently be confirmed by a postal or ballot-box vote.<\/p>\n

In January, the CDU elected its party leadership digitally with POLYAS. The party had the expectation that an election at its party conference should operate completely digitally. However, the party was unable to fully assert this political demand and so they decided to confirm the leader with a subsequent postal vote. To ensure that the candidate who won the online election would also be elected by postal vote, the candidate on the ballot paper for the postal vote could only be the winner of the online election.<\/p>\n

Read the CDU case study now ><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Virtual elections in parties<\/h3>\n

In political parties, the membership vote is of great importance. A membership vote promotes internal party democracy, it strengthens the feeling of belonging among the membership base, and the party gains media attention. The organization of these votes, however, is very complex and often excludes very busy party members who are unable to attend and vote at every party conference.<\/p>\n

With a virtual election:<\/h3>\n