Integrative Wahlsysteme

Ranked-choice voting systems, such as the spare vote, are particularly well suited to ensuring the integrative character of elections in Germany. So far, however, these electoral systems have been difficult to fit into existing German constitutional jurisprudence. This book provides suggestions on how to succeed in this task by redefining important concepts of electoral law from scratch. In doing so, it shows that integrated runoff elections and spare votes can not only be designed in accordance with the German constitution but are even constitutionally required. These new election procedures make it possible to implement the principles of political participation and democratic legitimacy contained in the principle of democracy in the best possible way.