2-group principle
The 2-group principle is a method for the precise determination of an election result. The ballot papers are counted by two different groups. First, a group counts the ballots. Then the other group counts the same pieces of paper again without knowing the result of the first group. Only if the result of the second count is the same as the first is it counted. Otherwise it will be counted again.
For the first time and on a large scale, the 2-group principle was used in the 2013 federal election . In the Essen III constituency , 150,000 ballot papers from over 800 employees of the Essen city administration were counted according to the 2-group principle, because inconsistencies were found in some of the records from the polling stations. Matthias Hauer ( CDU ) emerged as the winner with a 93-vote lead, after having only received a 3-vote lead according to the preliminary official final result.