Die Öffentlichkeit der Wahl

Public elections are ballot-box elections. Not only online voting, but also the growing use of postal voting and shortcomings in election administration challenge both the unwritten principle of the public nature of elections-known from the German Federal Constitutional Court's landmark decision on electronic voting machines-and the traditional model of ballot-box voting. Drawing on the functions of electoral integrity and democratic integration, Johanna Mittrop clarifies the doctrinal substance of the principle of publicity while advancing the theory of electoral procedure law.
She highlights the central role of the principle of publicity in safeguarding electoral integrity, develops the concept of electoral integrity in greater detail, and specifies its doctrinal significance for both the conduct and review of elections. In doing so, she offers a critical analysis of the frequently invoked notion of the trustworthiness of elections. At the same time, she demonstrates that public voting also serves a function of democratic integration. To this end, Mittrop develops an independent constitutional concept of integration that distinguishes itself both from Rudolf Smend's theory of integration and from national-essentialist concepts of homogeneity.
To substantiate this integrative function, the author draws on insights from cultural studies to develop an aesthetics of elections. Democratic integration is described as a process of collective self-assurance, stimulated by ballot-box voting as a distinctive mode of representation and mediation, aimed at fostering acceptance of both elections and representative democracy.
By linking doctrinal and theoretical insights with contemporary electoral practice and current policy debates, the study provides a scientifically grounded basis for legislative decisions concerning the future design of electoral systems. Its methodological approach also creates opportunities for engagement with interdisciplinary scholarship.