Introduction

Abstract

Election History. The history of elections goes back a long way and election reforms have taken place several times: People in the ancient world wrote their decisions on shards, Englishmen in the Middle Ages cast their vote by public acclamation, Italians in the Renaissance used either polling bowls or polling stones, and voters in Prussia wrote their decisions in public electoral registers (compare to [42]). Starting at the end of the 19th century many, especially industrial, countries established the following election reforms: first, the principles of a universal franchise as well as a direct and secret election were introduced. Later, the principles of free and equal suffrage were added leading to the fact that women and poor people received the right to vote. In Germany all five principles have been explicitly embedded in the law since 1949 (compare to [122]). We might say that this can be considered as the beginning of modern democracy.