One man, one vote

The electoral equality is an expression of the principle of equality that applies this principle to the right to vote.

A weighting of votes is hereafter prohibited. Also, the right to vote more than once, is not compatible with the electoral equality. This is also known from the English as "one man, one vote". Inequalities are both a class franchise and a plural suffrage. In the first case, the voters are divided into different classes, for example, so that in the different classes vote, many voters, the classes but each appoint an equal number of deputies. The voices of the voters have a different weight. In the second case some voters get more votes than other voters.

Germany

Empire

Historically, it was in Germany the individual states in which the election was not equal, for example, in Prussia with the three- class electoral system and in Oldenburg with the additional vote for electors, who were older than forty years. Such choice inequalities were 1918/1919 abolished. The Reichstag suffrage since 1867, however, was the same in that sense. The electoral equality but was affected by the fact that in the Reichstag election districts some very different numbers of voters lived.

A choice may be unequal, but in general. In Prussia all male subjects were allowed to vote, which was considered ( along with some suffrage exclusions, for example, for incapacitated or military personnel ) as a general election. However, their voices did not have the same weight. In Bavaria there was again reversed a census suffrage, that is, could not vote for anyone but only those who direct taxes paid ( so it was not general). For those who were allowed to vote, the right to vote, however, was the same.

Federal Republic of Germany

Electoral equality means, according to the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court that

The court distinguishes ( proportional or majoritarian ) between the different variants of the Wahlgleicheit depending on the electoral system. The right to vote must form a consistent system. Therefore, should not arbitrarily elements of proportional representation are combined with the majority of the electoral law.

The different scales of the Constitutional Court in majoritarian and proportional representation are criticized in part as hole theory.

Excerpt from BVerfGE 95, 335 ( 353 f ):

European Union

In the elections for the European Parliament ( European election ) the principle of electoral equality is not respected because the individual country (regardless of the turnout ) a fixed number is assigned to seats which are small countries heavily over-represented (eg, per deputy in Germany 800,000 citizens in Malta 70,000 citizens). The individual countries thus represent ( multiperson ) constituencies with significantly different values ​​success dar.

The Article 39 paragraph 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union requires in contrast to the corresponding Basic Law article 38, paragraph 1 of the Basic Law for federal elections no electoral equality.

Individual circumstances

Often existed in the past election laws, in which the principle of equal suffrage did not apply. Examples are the census suffrage and the three-class suffrage. In some existing or proposed election procedure is controversial whether they maintain equality of choice. For example, it argues that advocates of children's suffrage in fact demand a multiple voting rights for parents and that gain with the introduction of quotas as a women's quota beneficiary groups a casting vote.

The issue of electoral equality plays a role in the debate about the size and layout of the constituencies. Significantly different size of constituencies lead to different chances of success of the electorate, depending on the constituency. (See section above: "European Union ").

In the election to the European Parliament ( European election ) the principle of electoral equality is not respected because the individual countries a fixed number is (regardless of the turnout ) assigned to seats which are small countries heavily over-represented (eg, per deputy in Germany 800,000 citizens, in Malta 70,000 citizens). The individual countries thus represent ( multiperson ) constituencies with significantly different values ​​success dar.

• Suffrage ( Germany )