Comeback for paper and pencil.

The use of Abstimmcomputern in Bundestagswahl grundgesetzwidrig was, according to the Constitutional Court - the old machines are just too uncertain. For cities and communities have the verdict pitfalls: you find it increasingly difficult to find helpers election.

 

Hamburg - Uncomplicated, modern and chic they should be, the election machinery, which with a simple push of a button the usual scribbles on paper separable promised. Already in the Bundestagswahl 2005 voted nearly two million people per computer - the end of the election seemed to slip begun.

DPA
Ballots for federal elections: "Electronic counting of voters simply can not be controlled"

Barely three years later, going to be in a super-election year, municipalities and counties have their polling booths well again with paper and pencil equip. The Federal Constitutional Court (Constitutional Court)
on Tuesday stopped the triumphant progress of the election machinery in Germany. The previous use, so the verdict of the judges was unconstitutional.

The vote in 2005 - at that time were more than 1800 units in dozens of constituencies in use - contrary to the principle of public choice, it is said in the statement of reasons. The electronic counting of votes from the voters is simply not verifiable. "Each citizen must be the key steps in the election without any special technical knowledge to understand and reliably be able to understand," the court ruled.

Newly elected to be not so. Because no evidence of errors, the Bundestagswahl 2005. But the ruling has impact on the elections in the current year, the Bundestag and European elections, four more Landtag and eight local elections - they all will be well again run freely through the machine.

"One could say that the court would technikfeindlich"

Surprisingly good but even supporters of the electoral machinery the verdict as a success. Carl-Christian Dressel, Vice-Chairman of the Audit Committee in the Bundestag election, feels encouraged by the verdict, is even talk of a "milestone" for the future of electronic helpers. "The judges have made it clear that the use of voting machines is possible in principle," Dressel said shortly after the verdict to blogs ONLINE. In fact, the Second Senate concluded the use of voting machines is not entirely out. The regime in the federal election law, the "choice devices" generally permits remain in force.

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Elections to the Bundestag

Two million voters voted in the parliamentary elections of 2005, as usual, with pencil and ballot paper, but by voting machines. The machines were in 39 of the 299 constituencies established, and in the federal states of Brandenburg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.
Also in the 2002 Bundestag election computers were already used.
The devices used in Germany consist of a keypad on which the ballot is displayed, and a small LCD screen on which the voters see his submissions and verify. The votes are stored in a memory module and stored at the end of Election evaluated.

European and local elections

Already at the 1999 European elections were computers in Germany. Occasionally they found in the sequence including at municipal level with municipal elections use.

State election in Hesse

At the country level were Wahlcomputer in 2008 in Sydney Landtagswahl used. This was despite appeals against the election results because of lack of security and manipulation of results. The procedures, however, were never up before the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe arrives.

Use in the U.S.

In the United States have voting machines widely - despite well-known margins of votes. First, however, mechanical devices, there were elections in the U.S. in the 30s. In particular, the vote by punch card is often played in the problems of income recognition on the presidential election 2000 in the state of Florida, a crucial role. At the time, was subject to the candidate of the Democrats, Al Gore, the Republican George W. Bush.

Fear of tampering

Election computers have no connection to the Internet and are therefore classical attacks by hackers little vulnerable. Members of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) had opportunities but discovered the device before and even during use to manipulate.
Critics also complain that only a single computer as a "type" has been officially verified. In the Netherlands and Ireland were independent experts on the
Concluded that the electoral process with paper and pen to the
"electronic ballot box" was superior. The Dutch Council of Ministers
therefore decided in May 2008, elections only with pen and
Paper permit.

Even if it is in the era of online banking almost antiquarian seems that the voting of the elected representatives of paper and manual counting blocks as follows: The court sought in sentencing, not as ewiggestrig to stand. "The tenor of the decision might be tempted to think that the court was technikfeindlich and ignored the challenges and opportunities of the digital age," said Vice-President Andreas Voßkuhle. That is not correct, he said.

Only need the use of election computers just to ensure that the process of electoral votes "reliably and without special expertise to understand" could. Even Internet elections, the Court means a stop to this, so Voßkuhle.

On paper there is no way past

The plaintiffs, physicist Ulrich Wiesner and his father Joachim Wiesner, a retired political scientist, faced with the decision fully confirmed. Both had repeatedly warned against the use of voting machines threatened a "control vacuum after the vote."

Their fears are unjustified not. All German voting machines come from the Dutch manufacturer Nedap ( "Nederlandsche Apparatenfabriek"). The company had computer hackers once full to the reliability of their machines to the test to be submitted - promptly led hackers before going before television cameras, as within minutes the components of the shared computer. In other states, such as the United States or Ireland, manipulation scandals have triggered protests and the image of the voting machine skimmed.

No reason, at the long-term technical progress in the voting booth to doubt, says the deputy Carl-Christian Dressel. "It is relatively simple measures possible to ensure the existing safety equipment standards to ensure sufficient control over the vote is guaranteed," said the SPD politician. As concrete measures to look and in what period this should happen, he wanted to be first is not to define. A further breakdown of the use of Nedap machines - of course, checked and converted - did not rule out.

Either way is probably no way lead at the paper, if only to counter-control: The judges made it clear that votes next to the electronic storage also need to be covered elsewhere, such as by a separate expression of the electronic ballot. Error or fraud in the election machinery were just hard to see, was necessary, therefore, a reliable accuracy of control. " It is also ticking with a choice of pen, just as an additional feature, the electronic recording of the voice offers.

Upcoming Bundestagswahl again traditionally

Especially for the local machines are attractive because it is increasingly difficult, plenty of choice to find helpers. 290 units purchased alone the city of Dortmund in 2001, especially to the vote counting process. But the Bundestag on 27 September will very likely take place without the devices go, said a representative of the Federal Interior Ministry immediately after the decision from Karlsruhe. How much a possible upgrading of the damp communities are coming, is still unclear.

The Legal expert of the FDP, Max Stadler, sees the coming elections but calm at the electoral breakthrough of the computer was "merely postponed, not canceled," said Stadler blogs ONLINE. His presumption will begin after "no more community run the risk of an electoral machine only." Nevertheless, he was assumed that paper and pen on election day soon to the past: "You can join the technical progress is not sealed."

With material from Reuters