Secret ballot

The secret ballot protects the voters in a secret ballot before that his voting decision is observed or can be reconstructed later. Securing the secrecy of voting is one of the principles of electoral law of democracy. The aim is to complicate the intimidation of voters and the sale of votes.

The secrecy of elections of the public nature of elections seems to contradict. Public but elections are called as the Bundestag elections, because the act of voting takes place to be in public. The polling station is open to the public, and the electoral process should be transparent and understandable.

To ensure that the "right" result arises in sham elections, these are not secret as a rule. Thus, the secrecy of the ballot in the " elections " to the People's Chamber of the GDR was in fact publicly. While there was the theoretical possibility to fill in the ballot secrecy and to vote against the unit list. However, this voting behavior has been registered and the voters had to expect reprisals. The vast number of votes was therefore made ​​open. In the vernacular, thus you spoke of, you go " list fold " when you went to vote.

The Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE of 29 June 1990 wrote in point 5.1 and 7.4 before secret ballots.

Urn choice at the polling station

The secrecy of the ballot is secured by the voting booth, in the election process must take place and the sealed ballot box, in which the ballot is cast. Also, this includes uniform and equal ballot pins with which the ballots may be marked. Photos and video footage at the polling station are prohibited. A violation of these rules would amount to a violation of the secrecy of the ballot the same.

The secrecy of the ballot requires that a present in his polling station voters his voice secret, that must leave unattended without need for assistance; Ballots for which the labeling of the electorate has been observed must not be thrown into the ballot box, in principle. However, should a result of this scheme are not Article 29 of the " UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" undermined, according to which the Contracting States are obliged to ensure that at the request of people with disabilities election officials an assistance in voting by a person of choice of disabled voters must allow. The person who provides assistance to the electoral process, it inevitably gets with how the voters vote. This limitation of the requirement of a secret ballot must be taken into account because of their disability because of the prohibition of discrimination of people.

Each voter shall announce his decision publicly election after the election. By no way to verify the accuracy of this statement, intimidation is prevented. If someone has been put before the election ban unlawfully under pressure, so the person can claim to have made ​​the choice demanded of him, but in reality freely chose another party after a unobserved vote.

Postal vote

In the postal vote several de facto principles of electoral law are limited. These restrictions are taken into account to allow voters to participate in the election, which it at the polling station, mainly due to illness or absence from home, could not on election day.

When voting by absentee ballot, unlike in the voting at the polling station can not be guaranteed that voters fill out their ballots unaffected, unobserved and in person. This intimidation, vote buying and exploiting the helplessness of demented and mentally handicapped persons are possible. It is also technically possible to forward signed, but unfilled postal ballot documents to be filled later by a third party. All of these forms of abuse, however, are prohibited.

In the mail for election authority postal secrecy is to protect the ballot letters before opening through the postal workers. In the election authority of the election letters will be stored closed to the count. The fact that a voter has made use of the possibility of postal voting is, however, noted in the voter lists so that the person concerned still ( a second time ) can not do in his polling place of his right to vote.

The use of two envelopes to protect them, that is where the votes are tallied known, who has filled in the ballot. The outer contains the identification ( ballot ) of the voter to prevent multiple choice, and a smaller envelope. This is a ballot, no conclusions on the person of the voter can be drawn from the forth alone. To ensure the secrecy of voting are prohibited in postal voting, that a person either cover opens immediately after the other.

A ballot was emitted, for example, on letter - choice and true in the outer envelope ( with identification of the voter ) but not in the inner envelope shall be deemed not submitted ( preserving secrecy of the ballot ).

Retrieves a voter, the postal ballot paper in person at the election authority from, he can fill out and submit the spot. Here, a voting booth to safeguard the secrecy of voting is available. This also eliminates the risk of insight in the post.

Voting machines

The use of electronic voting machines is controversial in terms of Gewährleistbarkeit secrecy of the ballot. For example, the voting machines the company SDU withdrawal of approval for the Dutch parliamentary elections due compromising electromagnetic radiation and concomitant facilitation of Van Eck phreaking 2006. The Federal Constitutional Court ruled in 2009 that the use of voting computers in 2005 Bundestag election was unconstitutional.