In the cour­se of the histo­ry of demo­cra­tic voting rights a remar­kab­le deve­lo­p­ment has taken place: coll­ec­ti­ve pri­vi­le­ges to vote were com­ple­te­ly repla­ced by a per­so­na­li­sa­ti­on of voting rights. Today, it is per­cei­ved as self-evi­dent that every adult citi­zen has the right to vote. But neither the clas­si­cal forms of demo­cra­cy ack­now­led­ged such a right nor is it pro­mo­ted by the con­di­ti­ons of modern mass socie­ty. The­r­e­fo­re, its emer­gence and dis­se­mi­na­ti­on is a his­to­ric ‚mira­cle‘ and an achie­ve­ment that is based on the fun­da­men­tal poli­ti­cal con­cept of a ‚per­son‘. This con­cept has to be pro­tec­ted at all tim – and today afresh – against the ever-pre­sent dan­gers of ero­si­on and neglect.