Polyas

POLYAS GmbH
TypePrivate
IndustryElectronic voting, Software
Founded1996 (software)
2012 (company)
FoundersWolfgang Jung
Kai Reinhard
HeadquartersKassel, Germany
Area served
Europe
ProductsOnline voting software
Websitewww.polyas.com

POLYAS is a German software company specializing in electronic and online voting systems.[1] The company is headquartered in Kassel, Germany, and develops software used for elections by universities, associations, cooperatives, and political parties.[2]

History

The POLYAS software was originally developed in 1996 by Wolfgang Jung and Kai Reinhard. The first election using the system took place in Finland in 1996 during a youth election, involving approximately 30,000 participants voting in three languages.[3]

Until 2012, POLYAS operated as a project within the German IT company Micromata GmbH. In 2012, it was spun off as an independent entity, POLYAS GmbH.[4][5] Following its incorporation, the software saw increased adoption in German university elections.[6]

In 2016, the POLYAS voting system received certification from the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) under Common Criteria standards for use in non-political elections.[7]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of the software expanded to political parties for internal decision-making processes. In 2025, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) utilized POLYAS for a membership vote regarding a federal coalition agreement.[8]

Since 2023, POLYAS representatives have publicly advocated for the legalization of digital works council elections and the digitalization of Bundestag elections.[9][10]

Functionality

The POLYAS platform allows election organizers to upload a register of eligible voters and distribute access credentials by post or email. The system can integrate with external authentication methods such as LDAP and Single Sign-On (SSO).[11]

To ensure ballot secrecy, POLYAS uses a two-server architecture: one server verifies voter eligibility, while a separate server stores votes without any link to voter identities. Since Version Core 3, the software has offered an optional end-to-end verification feature that enables voters to confirm that their vote was correctly recorded.[3]

Reception and criticism

Proprietary software

POLYAS has been criticized by academic and student organizations for relying on proprietary software. Critics argue that the absence of publicly available source code limits transparency and independent auditing.[12] Concerns have also been raised about elections being hosted on company-managed servers rather than on infrastructure controlled by organizers.

Several elections conducted with POLYAS have faced legal challenges in Germany. In 2014, online student council elections at Friedrich Schiller University Jena were declared invalid by the Thuringian Higher Administrative Court for violating existing election regulations.[13] In 2016, a works council election using POLYAS was annulled by the Hamburg Labour Court because German law required in-person voting at the time.[14]

References

  1. ^ "POLYAS". Democracy Technologies. Democracy Technologies. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  2. ^ "Customers". POLYAS. POLYAS GmbH. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  3. ^ a b "Introducing Verifiability in the POLYAS Remote Electronic Voting System". ResearchGate. ResearchGate GmbH. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  4. ^ "Spin-offs at Micromata". Micromata. Micromata GmbH. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  5. ^ "Drei neue Geschäftsführer für POLYAS". Startbase (in German). Startbase. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  6. ^ Keller, Adrian (2024-03-25). "Nachvollziehbarkeit und Verifizierbarkeit von Online-Wahlen an Hochschulen". KIT Scientific Publishing (in German). Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  7. ^ "BSI-DSZ-CC-0862-V2-2021". Federal Office for Information Security (in German). Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI). Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  8. ^ "SPD publishes results of members' vote on coalition agreement". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  9. ^ "POLYAS GmbH lobby register entry". Lobbyregister des Deutschen Bundestages (in German). German Bundestag. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  10. ^ "Committee discussion on digital works council elections". Deutscher Bundestag (in German). German Bundestag. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  11. ^ "Partial verifiability in POLYAS for the GI elections". ResearchGate. ResearchGate GmbH. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  12. ^ "Ablehnung der Online-Wahl von Polyas" [Rejection of the Polyas online election]. Konferenz der Informatikfachschaften (in German). KIF. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  13. ^ "Thüringer OVG, Urteil vom 25.03.2021 - 4 KO 395/19". OpenJur (in German). OpenJur e.V. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  14. ^ "Landesarbeitsgericht Hamburg, 8 TaBV 5/17". IWW Institut (in German). IWW Institut. Retrieved 2026-02-03.

51°18′17″N 9°26′41″E / 51.304804423124274°N 9.444670318034563°E / 51.304804423124274; 9.444670318034563

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