WURZBURG REGION. The youth district day of the district of Würzburg would like to become more visible in order to inspire more young people for political commitment and thus for democracy. How this can be achieved was discussed by the district youth councilors at their most recent meeting in the Würzburg district office.
In addition to uniform sweaters for a joint appearance, the youth group also plans to become better known through its own events. Since state elections are taking place in Bavaria this year, there should be a discussion forum with the direct candidates for the Würzburg-Land constituency. Until the next meeting of the youth group on July 4, 2023, a working group will now draft ideas for the form of the event. An exchange open to all young people, moderated by district youth councillors, is being considered.
The next item on the agenda also dealt with elections. In its last session, the youth council had rejected the introduction of an electoral code, but now a steering group made up of youth councilors dared
-advised to try again and requested the introduction of online elections. At present, the selection of youth group members takes place in the schools, usually by appointment and often after a personal address by teachers.
The steering group favors a procedure that is used in the youth parliament of the city of Kempten. Each type of school would have a certain number of representatives. In addition, there would be free places for all 14 to 20-year-olds residing in the Würzburg district who do not attend school, such as trainees or students. The election of the direct candidates would take place online and would be organized by the schools. Because, as youth district spokeswoman Mia Morell reported from a study by the German Children’s Fund, turnout in youth parliaments is highest when elections are held in schools.
District Administrator Thomas Eberth pointed out that open questions such as a minimum voter turnout for district students still need to be clarified in order to democratically legitimize the election. He also put up for discussion how the youth group would deal with it if there were not enough candidates or just as many as there were places available. The team of spokespersons advocated testing the procedure in practice so that the youth group could continue to develop democratically and young people’s understanding of democracy could be promoted. The members of the youth group held lively discussions about the introduction of online elections and presented arguments for and against the procedure. Ultimately, it was decided that the steering group would work out an electoral code and submit it to the youth council for voting at the next meeting. Later, the district council of the district of Würzburg has to decide whether it wants to keep youth elections or the low-threshold system of appointments.
