More Car-Free Zones, More Surveillance? What Each Party Wants in Hesse's Local Elections on March 15
When do I choose? Digital voting aid starts in 27 municipalities - New Digital Voting Assistant Voto Launches Ahead of Hesse's Elections
A new digital tool aims to help voters navigate the choices ahead of Hesse's municipal elections. How does it work?
For Hesse's local elections on March 15, the Technical University (TU) of Darmstadt and the nonprofit organization Voto have launched another digital voting assistant—also called Voto—now available in 27 cities, towns, and districts, including Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Offenbach, Wiesbaden, and Hanau, the project partners announced. The tool is described as "politically neutral, free of charge, and tailored to local issues."
"Local politics is democracy on your doorstep—but the information landscape is often overwhelming. Voto provides clarity," explained Christian Stecker, one of the project coordinators at TU Darmstadt.
Compare Your Views with Party Positions
Using Voto, voters can approve or reject statements on local policy issues—such as "The city should have more car-free zones" or "Public video surveillance should be expanded"—and then compare their responses with the stances of political parties and voter groups.
During its first run in the 2021 Hesse municipal elections, the media-supported project saw its voting aids used "over 200,000 times," according to the organizers.
In parallel, for the upcoming March 15 elections, the Hesse State Agency for Civic Education and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf are offering a similar digital tool, the Vote Matcher (Wahl-O-Mat), available for voters in Frankfurt, Fulda, Marburg, and Kassel.
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