| Requirement | Caritas Rottenburg-Stuttgart specification |
| Organization type | Member association / umbrella organization within the Caritasverband der Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart (DICVRS) |
| Election type | Election of representatives for the regional commission as part of the Labor Law Commission |
| Previous system | In-person ballot voting on-site (Stuttgart) |
| Key challange | Long travel distances, busy schedules, legal compliance, and church data protection requirements |
| Special feature | Live support, fast vote setup adjustment, and KDG (church GDPR) - related contract adaptation |
1. Caritas election at a glance
2. A formal vote across a wide region
3. The limits of voting on site
4. Finding a trusted digital voting partner
5. Meeting church data protection standards
6. Support solves the problems
7. A smooth voting process in practice
8. Faster results and positive reactions
9. What church organizations can take away
10. Why digital voting is the next step
When the Caritasverband der Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart needed to elect representatives for its regional commission, the organization wanted to move away from a traditional in-person voting process.
Previously, eligible representatives had to travel to Stuttgart (Germany) and vote on-site.
For a diocese covering a large region from northern Baden-Württemberg to Lake Constance, this created unnecessary travel effort for a relatively short voting procedure.
With NemoVote, DICVRS was able to conduct the election online, securely, and in a legally reliable way.
The result:
The election could be completed in just a few minutes, with less administrative effort and strong support throughout the process.
Sina Steiner (Advisor for Labor Law and Collective Bargaining Policy at Caritas Rottenburg-Stuttgart): “We are certain that we will not go back to the old process.”
The election was connected to the regional commission, which is part of the broader labor-law structure of the Caritas-Association in Germany.
Sina Steiner, Advisor for Labor Law and Collective Bargaining Policy at Caritas Rottenburg-Stuttgart, explains that this was not a small informal vote. It was a relevant and formal election with clear procedural requirements.
The organization needed to elect representatives for the commission in October.
The challenge was not only the election itself, but also the context around it:
For Caritas, the goal was clear:
They needed a voting solution that was easy to use, reliable, and suitable for a formal church-related election.
Before using NemoVote, the election was conducted as ballot box voting, meaning eligible representatives had to come on-site and voted in person.
This worked in the past, but it was not very practical.
This created several difficulties:
For an organization with members across such a wide region, an online election offered a much more practical alternative.
Instead of bringing everyone to one room, Caritas could bring the election to the voters.
Caritas was looking for a tool that could make the election easier without reducing trust, structure, or legal reliability.
Several points made NemoVote the right fit:
Sina emphasizes that the simplicity of the tool was especially important.
The election was too important to risk confusion during the voting process.
Sina Steiner: “We looked for a tool that was so easy to handle that we could carry out this important procedure and this important election in a particularly trustworthy way with a partner.”
For Caritas, NemoVote was not only a technical tool.
It was also a partner that helped the organization conduct a sensitive election with confidence.
One of the most important parts of the project was legal compliance.
Because Caritas operates in a church-law context, the organization follows the KDG (Gesetz über den Kirchlichen Datenschutz), the German church data protection law.
This made the project more specific than a standard online election.
All external service providers had to meet the requirements of the church data protection framework. For NemoVote, this meant that the contractual setup had to be reviewed and adapted.
Caritas needed an Data Processing Agreement (DPA) that matched its church data protection requirements.
This involved:
Although this required additional coordination, Sina describes the process positively.
Sina Steiner: “You remained totally flexible, and everything worked wonderfully.”
This was an important trust factor for Caritas.
The election was not only about moving from paper to digital. It also had to fit the organization’s legal and church-specific framework.
For NemoVote, this was also an important step forward. After adapting the contract to the KDG requirements, NemoVote is now fully KDG-compliant.
For the first election with NemoVote, Caritas chose to book live support.
This meant that NemoVote staff was present (online) during the election and could support the technical side in the background.
For Sina and her team, this created an important feeling of safety.
They had been briefed on the system and probably could have handled the process themselves. But during a formal election, speed and professionalism mattered.
Sina Steiner: “We were glad that we had you there as live support.”
During the meeting, an unexpected situation occurred. The internal distribution of votes according to the organization’s rules, changed ad-hoc. The voting setup had to be adjusted quickly so that the election could still be conducted correctly and in line with the statutes.
Because NemoVote live support was present, and the system is that flexible, the change could be made in the background within seconds. The event continued without an interruption.
Sina Steiner: “The big advantage was that it happened so quickly that there was not even a real interruption in the event.”
For a formal election, this matters. Even small procedural changes can create uncertainty. In this case, the situation was solved quickly, calmly, and professionally.
Before the election, Caritas and NemoVote had planned the process together. Everyone involved knew their role.
During the event, the team followed the planned election steps and completed the voting process in a focused way.
According to Sina, the election itself took under 10 minutes.
The process was:
Even though there was a small unexpected issue, it did not harm the overall process.
Sina Steiner: “We were very well supported by you.”
For Caritas, the live support gave the team confidence. They could focus on the meeting and the election procedure, while NemoVote handled the technical setup in the background.
This helped the organization maintain a calm and professional atmosphere throughout the vote.
After the election, Caritas received positive feedback immediately. For the diocese, the election was seen as a pioneering moment.
Sina Steiner: “One eligible voter was totally enthusiastic that we had dared to do this and that we were absolute pioneers in our diocese.”
The difference compared to the previous process was significant.
Earlier elections required much more administrative work.
Based on the documents from previous elections, Sina believes the old process likely involved:
With NemoVote, the result was available much faster.
The election itself was completed in only a few minutes.
Sina Steiner: “I can imagine that it took several days and several people to achieve exactly the same result that we achieved with you in a few minutes.”
For Caritas, this created a clear benefit:
Digital voting reduced effort, saved time, and made the process easier to manage.
Based on the Caritas experience, several lessons are useful for other church organizations considering online elections.
For organizations spread across large regions, online voting can remove unnecessary travel and make participation easier.
Instead of asking voters to come to one physical location, the election can be conducted digitally in a structured and secure way.
In church-law environments, KDG and DPA requirements should be discussed early in the process.
This gives both sides enough time to review contracts, involve data protection officers, and make necessary adjustments.
Even when the tool is easy to use, live support helps reduce stress.
For important elections, it gives the organizing team extra confidence and ensures that unexpected situations can be handled quickly.
Processes that previously required postal documents, manual work, and several days can be completed much faster.
This is especially valuable for organizations with limited time and many internal responsibilities.
When the process is easy for voters and organizers, digital elections become more accepted.
In the Caritas case, the positive feedback showed that the digital process was not only functional, but also welcomed.
The Caritas Rottenburg-Stuttgart election shows how digital voting can simplify even legally sensitive election contexts.
The organization moved from an in-person election in Stuttgart to an online voting process that was faster, easier, and more accessible for participants across a large region.
With NemoVote, Caritas was able to:
When asked about the future of church elections, Sina’s answer was clear.
Sina Steiner: “We will certainly not go back to the old procedure.”
She also sees potential for other dioceses and church-related organizations to use digital elections in similar contexts.
When asked what she would say to another Caritas association considering NemoVote, her answer was simple:
Sina Steiner: “Call Aaron and do it.”
For church organizations, associations, and member-based institutions, this example shows that digital elections can be both practical and trustworthy.
Digital voting is not only a modern alternative. For many organizations, it is the logical next step.
More success stories:
Goodyear Retail Sytems' digital election: From paper to online voting
FIVA's hybrid General Meeting: Proxy voting with weighting
Hybrid voting at World Sailing's General Assembly: AGM elections
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