Accumulate

Example cumulation: more than one vote for one person

Accumulate (from the Latin. Cumulus - accumulation), also voices accumulation or ridging is a term from the right to vote .

It means that in elections with open lists or pure person elections , in which the voter has more than one vote , several of these votes can be combined on one candidate . The maximum number of votes per candidate is often limited to a low value.

The allocation of seats to each list is usually only based on the total number of votes cast for all of its candidates. The heaping up gives a candidate only one advantage over competitors from his own party.

Distributing several voices to different lists, which is often possible together with the accumulation, is called variegation .

procedure

Technically, cumulation is made possible either by the fact that there are several options for each candidate on the ballot, or that instead of the cross, the voter enters a number corresponding to the votes cast. As far as the elected candidates have to be handwritten on the voting slip, you can sometimes cumulate by entering a name several times.

Pre-accumulate

In some elections, in which the voter can also tick a list as a whole, there is the possibility of pre-accumulation by the nominee . The votes of these voters are distributed to the individual candidates according to a fixed scheme; The candidates who are to receive several votes are often listed several times on the ballot . In Bavaria, for example, applicants can be listed two or three times if the list contains fewer applicants than there are seats to be allocated. All applicants listed three times must be at the beginning of the list, then those listed twice, and at the end all simple ones, if different multiples are combined.

If the voter ticks one of these candidates, the candidate automatically receives several votes, but not more than three. If the applicant only crosses the list, the multiple listed candidates receive several votes accordingly. In this way, a party or electoral group that does not have enough candidates to field the maximum number of candidates possible can avoid losing its votes.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, accumulation is common in parliamentary and other elections in the proportional system at all three levels of government. Usually a maximum of two votes may be cast for a candidate.

During the implementation of the Federal People's Initiative “for proportional voting for the National Council” , the Swiss government had proposed in 1918 not to cumulate. However, the Council of States and then the National Council decided to allow candidates to be listed twice, whereby the parties discussed the precumulation above all. They should be able to promote their top people in this way. The possibility of removing names from preprinted electoral lists was also introduced with the Proprorz Act of 1919. Together with the panaschieren , the voters have three influential possibilities in the Swiss electoral system to change the election proposals of the parties.

Germany

You can cumulate in elections in the following federal states :

state	Local election	State election
Baden-Württemberg	Yes	No
Bavaria	Yes	No
Berlin	No	No
Brandenburg	Yes	No
Bremen	Yes	Yes
Hamburg	Yes ( districts )	Yes ( citizenship )
Hesse	Yes	No
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	Yes	No
Lower Saxony	Yes	No
North Rhine-Westphalia	No	No
Rhineland-Palatinate	Yes	No
Saarland	No	No
Saxony	Yes	No
Saxony-Anhalt	Yes	No
Schleswig-Holstein	No	No
Thuringia	Yes	No

In some federal states, the possibility of cumulation does not apply if a majority election takes place, i.e. fewer than two lists are available for election.

Web links

Individual evidence

[1] . Bavaria, BayGLKrWG, Section 25 and Rhineland-Palatinate, KWG, Section 29

[2] Federal Council Message of November 26, 1918 (PDF)

[3] Official stenographic protocol for the negotiations of the proportional representation law (PDF)

[4] Federal law on the election of the National Council. (From February 14, 1919.) (PDF)