Lokal-O-Mat for NRW: This is how local elections are fun and make voting easier!

Lokal-O-Mat for NRW: This is how local elections are fun and make voting easier!

The Lokal-O-Mat, a regionally adapted version of the well-known Wahl-O-Mat, has officially launched and is intended to help voters in the upcoming NRW local elections in September. The aim of this digital voting aid is to inform more than a million citizens about the different positions of the parties and to encourage them to actively engage with local political issues. Prof. Dr. Stefan Marschall leads the project, which was realized in collaboration with the State Center for Civic Education in North Rhine-Westphalia. The platform focuses on city council elections in ten cities, including Aachen, Coesfeld and Duisburg, taking into account the specific concerns of each location.

The Lokal-O-Mat offers users the opportunity to compare their own political views with those of the parties. To do this, they can deal with a total of 30 local policy theses, which can be answered either in the affirmative, neutrally or negatively. If necessary, theses can also be skipped, which increases flexibility for users. Finally, voters have the opportunity to weigh important theses and choose which parties they would like to include in the comparison. This allows for an individual mix of results, with one's own positions visibly displayed alongside the parties' answers.

Involvement of youth and local characteristics

An important aspect of Lokal-O-Mat is the inclusion of teenagers and young adults in the theses creation process. This is intended not only to increase their awareness of local issues, but also to take into account the interests of all eligible voters. By analyzing local debates and media before defining the theses, local particularities are taken into account. This is an attempt to ensure the broadest and most relevant selection of topics possible.

Another innovative part of the project is the planned user survey, which is intended to generate insights into the use of digital voting aids and the level of knowledge of voters. The aim of this research is to improve the transfer of political knowledge and to find out what motivates voters to use the Lokal-O-Mat. Until election day on September 14th, interested citizens can use the Lokal-O-Mat tools at Lokal-o-mat.de to use.

The role of digital voting aids in the electoral process

The movement toward digital voting aids is not a new phenomenon. The parties' strategies have changed dramatically since the late 1990s, especially in the context of online election campaigns. Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign was hailed as a turning point for the perception and use of digital communications. The original Wahl-O-Mat was introduced in 2002 and has since enjoyed a steadily growing number of users, rising from 3.6 million in 2002 to 21.3 million in the 2021 federal election.

Online voting aids, including the new Lokal-O-Mat version, have now become more essential tools in election campaigns. Not only do they promote political participation, but they also help voters make informed decisions. This is done by checking one's own views against the positions of the parties and helps to significantly influence the voting decision. In Germany, over 80% of online users are already familiar with the Wahl-O-Mat, and more than 75% have used it recently. The challenges of this digital transformation lie, among other things, in the country's data protection culture.

The future is likely to be characterized by further developments such as e-voting and the use of artificial intelligence, while high quality standards and transparency will always be required for the design of online voting aids. These initiatives are critical to mobilizing the electorate and promoting an informed public. bpb.de reports on the complex influences and opportunities that digital election aids represent for political communication.