Wahl-O-Mat for young people: Your vote counts in Brandenburg!

Wahl-O-Mat for young people: Your vote counts in Brandenburg!

The anticipation for the mayoral election in Brandenburg an der Havel on November 9, 2025 is increasing, especially among younger citizens. On September 29, 2025, an exciting new tool was launched - the online-accessible Wahlomat, which was developed specifically for children and young people. Initiator Janne Engeleiter, the city's children and youth representative, set up this innovative project together with school social workers and representatives of youth centers. The idea behind it: to offer young people a platform to express their opinions and take an active part in the political debate. According to the city of Brandenburg, there is now the opportunity to find out about the positions of the six candidates running for mayor.

Citizens' voices are sought after, and the city's children and young people have been asked to submit their own theses. As a result of an impressive commitment, a total of 80 suggestions found their way to those responsible. After review and selection by a jury, 28 relevant and clear topics remained. These are not only critical, but also address issues that affect the everyday lives of young people. Issues such as free school meals, cheap rents and improving cycle paths are at the top of the list. The candidate's answer was formulated in a way that was suitable for young people in order to ensure the best possible understanding.

Voting machine as an instrument for participation

The Wahlomat offers a simple and clear way to deal with the positions of the candidates without being forced into a ranking list. The main thing is to ensure that your own views match those of the candidates. “Young people are more interested in concrete everyday topics than in economic topics,” explains Engeleiter. True to the motto: There is something going on, the Wahlomat would like to encourage people to actively follow political events and make self-determined decisions. Among the requests submitted there is even a desire for more jobs for people with disabilities from the Havelschule.

A minor technical issue that occurred on September 27th has now been resolved. Users who had difficulties are now asked to try the voting machine again. It is free to use and is not just limited to young people - adults can also use the tool. The results are not available centrally, but rather the participants receive individual feedback on their personal similarities with the candidates.

A look into the future

Overall, the Wahlomat has been a real success project since its introduction. Millions use this platform to engage with the parties' positions in the run-up to elections. The Wahlomat is supported by the Brandenburg State Center for Civic Education and offers schools and public institutions the opportunity to actively engage with political issues. This offer also shows that political education is of utmost importance not only for adults, but also for the young generation.

The period for using the voting machine runs until election day, so now is the time to find out more and strengthen your own political commitment. The first steps towards co-determination have been taken - it is now up to the young people to make full use of this opportunity. More information can be found on the official website of the city of Brandenburg stadt-brandenburg.de, meetingpoint-brandenburg.de and ljr-brandenburg.de.