Wahl-O-Mat, VOTO & Co. - Voting aids as an object of democratic education
The Hessian local elections are just around the corner and the citizens of the federal state are therefore faced with important decisions. Electoral aids play an important role as an instrument of political education. Applications such as Wahl-O-Mat, VOTO and similar tools help people to find out about political positions, key issues and priorities quickly, easily and comprehensibly. They enable a structured comparison between one's own political attitudes and the programmes and stances of political parties - expressly without making a specific election recommendation.
In the upcoming Online Democracy Talk North Hesse - an offer from the North Hesse specialist centres for democracy promotion and cross-phenomenon extremism prevention (DEXT) - on 12 March 2026 from 6 - 7:30 pm, scientist Thilo Dieing from TU Darmstadt will take an in-depth look behind the scenes of such election aids. The free online event will take place via the BigBlueButton platform. A link will be sent out shortly before the event; there is no need to download any special software.
In the online event, Thilo Dieing will show how election aids are designed and developed, how political theses are researched and voted on and which editorial and technical processes are behind the creation of the content. Numerous questions will be discussed: Who actually uses electoral aids - and who doesn't? How do parties try to influence electoral aids? Do electoral aids contribute to political participation and the strengthening of democratic competences? Do they play a role in preventing extremism? Do they influence voting decisions - and if so, in what way?
In the northern Hessian municipality of Kassel and in the districts of Schwalm-Eder and Waldeck-Frankenberg, local electoral assistance is available for the 2026 local elections. These specific examples will be taken up and examined in more detail during the discussion. Thilo Dieing is a research assistant at the "Political System of Germany and Comparison of Political Systems" department at TU Darmstadt, where he coordinates the scientific monitoring of the VOTO voting aid tool in the context of the Hessian local elections.
Registration is required to attend the event and is possible at www.landkreis-waldeck-frankenberg.de/veranstaltungen - date 12 March 2026. If you have any questions, please contact the DEXT Waldeck-Frankenberg office, Kea Sarah Brahms, by telephone on 05631 954-1561 or by email at dext@lkwafkb.de.
Registration link "Online lecture on election aids on 12 March 2026"