CH-BE
General Provisions (PRG)
Table of Provisions (184)
Statutory Text (184 Articles)
1. This law governs the right to vote in cantonal matters and the organization of elections and referendums.
2. The right to vote includes the right to
a) participate in elections and referendums,
b) be elected in a public vote to bodies of the canton, an administrative district, as well as to the Council of States,
c) sign and submit electoral proposals, referendums, popular proposals (counter-proposals from eligible voters), and initiatives.
1. The electoral district Mittelland-Nord referred to in Article 63, paragraph 1, number 5 consists of the following municipalities
1. Allmendingen,
2. Bäriswil,
3. Bolligen,
4. Bremgarten bei Bern,
5. ***
6. Deisswil bei Münchenbuchsee,
7. ***
8. Ferenbalm,
9. Fraubrunnen,
10. Frauenkappelen,
11. ***
12. Gurbrü,
13. Iffwil,
14. Ittigen,
15. Jegenstorf,
16. Kirchlindach,
17. Kriechenwil,
18. Laupen,
19. Mattstetten,
20. Meikirch,
21. Moosseedorf,
22. Mühleberg,
23. Münchenbuchsee,
24. Münchenwiler,
25. ***
26. Muri bei Bern,
27. Neuenegg,
28. Ostermundigen,
29. ***
30. Stettlen,
31. Urtenen-Schönbühl,
32. Vechigen,
33. Wiggiswil,
34. Wileroltigen,
35. Wohlen bei Bern,
36. Worb,
37. Zollikofen,
38. Zuzwil (BE).
1. The shifting of burdens between the canton and the municipalities amounting to 200,000 Swiss francs per year as a result of the repeal of Article 49 paragraph 2 of the PRG will be accounted for in the financial equalization according to Article 29b of the Financial and Administrative Equalization Act (FILAG) of November 27, 2000, from the date of the entry into force of this amendment.
1. This law applies to cantonal referendums and popular elections, as well as to the exercise of the right of referendum, popular proposal, and initiative rights in cantonal matters.
2. It applies to the conduct of federal referendums and National Council elections, insofar as federal legal regulations do not exist for this purpose.
1. The electoral district of Mittelland-South mentioned in Article 63, Paragraph 1, Number 7 consists of the following municipalities
43a *** ...
1. Arni (BE),
2. Belp,
3. Biglen,
4. Bowil,
5. Brenzikofen,
6. Freimettigen,
7 *** ...
8. Gerzensee,
9. Grosshöchstetten,
10. Guggisberg,
11. Häutligen,
12. Herbligen,
13. Jaberg,
14. Kaufdorf,
15. Kehrsatz,
16. Kiesen,
17. Kirchdorf (BE),
18 *** ...
19. Köniz,
20. Konolfingen,
21. Landiswil,
22. Linden,
23 *** ...
24. Mirchel,
25-26 *** ...
27. Münsingen,
28. Niederhünigen,
29. Niedermuhlern,
30 *** ...
31. Oberbalm,
32. Oberdiessbach,
33. Oberhünigen,
34. Oberthal,
35. Oppligen,
36. Riggisberg,
37. Rubigen,
38. Rüeggisberg,
39 *** ...
40. Rüschegg,
41 *** ...
42. Schwarzenburg,
42a *** Thurnen
43 *** ...
44. Toffen,
45. Wald (BE),
46. Walkringen,
47. Wichtrach,
48. Zäziwil.
1. The Government Council shall report to the Grand Council by no later than August 31, 2030, on
a) the implementation,
b) possibilities for optimization,
c) the repeal of legislation on transparency in the financing of election and referendum campaigns.
There is no obligation to exercise the right to vote.
The secrecy of the vote must be maintained.
Actions taken by cantonal and municipal authorities in connection with the exercise of political rights are exempt from fees, subject to any differing provisions of this law.
The Right to Vote in Federal Matters is Governed by Federal Law
The right to vote in federal matters is governed by federal law.
The right to vote in cantonal matters is governed by the cantonal constitution.
1. Swiss citizens abroad are entitled to vote on cantonal matters if they have reached the age of 18 and their voting municipality, according to Article 18 ASG, lies in the canton of Bern.
### 1. Persons who are under full guardianship due to permanent incapacity to judge or who are represented by a person appointed in advance are excluded from the right to vote.
### 2. Article 17 of the Federal Act on Political Rights (ASG) applies to Swiss citizens living abroad.
**The Political Residence is a Prerequisite for Exercising the Right to Vote.**
It is located in the municipality where the eligible voter resides and is registered.
A person who is registered for residence in a municipality can acquire political residence. The prerequisite for this is that they are not entered in the electoral register at their place of establishment.
For Swiss citizens living abroad, the voting municipality (Art. 5) is considered the political residence for exercising the right to vote.
1. Elections and voting shall take place at the ballot box.
2. Votes may be cast in person at the ballot box, by mail, or electronically under the conditions outlined in Article 18.
3. The government council may restrict or order voting by mail if necessary to ensure the exercise of voting rights. Specifically, it may order mail voting if voting at the ballot box is rendered impossible or significantly hindered due to force majeure.
4. Voting by proxy is not permitted.
1. If voters with the capacity to make judgments are unable to perform the necessary actions for voting due to a disability, they may seek the assistance of individuals holding official functions.
2. The government council regulates the specifics, particularly the permissible assistance, through an ordinance.
1. Official ballot papers are used exclusively for voting in elections and referendums.
1. Ballots may only be filled out by hand. Voting papers may only be filled out or modified by hand.
2. The completed voting and ballot papers shall be stamped on the back by the election committee.
1. Voting is conducted on the days officially designated for elections and referendums.
1. The voter identifies themselves with the voting certificate and submits it.
2. The electoral committee or the municipal employees involved according to Article 37a, paragraph 1, verify the validity of the voting certificate. If there is any doubt that it is issued in the name of the presenting person, an additional identification document will be required.
3. If there are serious doubts about the eligibility to vote, the person shall be excluded from voting by the electoral committee (Art. 35, para. 3).
The postal voting is permitted from the receipt of the voting or referendum documents.
1. In the case of postal voting, the voter shall place the following documents in the specially designated return envelope
a) the voting entitlement certificate, signed by the voter, and
b) the completed ballot papers, which shall be packaged separately.
2. The return envelope must be handed over to the postal service or submitted to the appropriate municipal office.
1. For postal voting, the return envelope must arrive at the municipality no later than the Saturday before the election or referendum day.
2. The deposit into the mailbox designated by the municipality must occur no later than the Saturday before the election or referendum day. The municipality may extend this deadline. It announces the time of the last collection on the mailboxes.
3. The number of return envelopes that have arrived late must be recorded. Late-arriving return envelopes are to be kept unopened and stored separately.
1. The voting committee or the municipal employees appointed in accordance with Article 37a paragraph 1 open the reply envelopes that have arrived on time and verify the validity of the voting certificates.
1. The government council may enable voting by electronic means if the technical and organizational requirements are met.
2. The intention of the eligible voters must be able to be accurately determined, and the voting secrecy must be preserved.
1. Ballot papers not stamped by the voting committee will not be considered.
1. Ballots that are stamped are invalid if they
a) are not official (Art. 45),
b) are filled out other than by hand,
c) do not clearly reflect the intent of the voter,
d) contain defamatory statements,
e) bear obvious markings.
2. If a ballot is to be used for multiple proposals, the vote is only invalid for those proposals where a reason for invalidity exists.
1. Ballot papers are invalid if reasons for invalidity according to Article 20 paragraph 1 letters a or c to e are present or if they
a) have been completed or altered in a manner other than by handwriting,
b) contain a list designation but no name of a candidate from the electoral district,
c) after rectification according to Article 23 in a majority election, contain more names than there are officials to be elected.
1. Postal Voting is Invalid if
a. the ballot paper is not enclosed in the sealed official return envelope,
b. the voter's personal signature is missing on the voter identification card,
c. the return envelope contains more than one voter identification card,
d. the return envelope arrives late at the municipality.
2. If the return envelope or the ballot envelope for the same proposal or election contains two or more differing ballots or voting slips, they are invalid.
3. If the return envelope or the ballot envelope for the same proposal or election contains multiple identical ballots or voting slips, one of them is valid.
**If in Majority Elections a Name Appears Multiple Times on a Ballot, the Repetitions Shall be Struck Off.**
If in Proportional Elections the Name of a Candidate Appears More than Twice on a Ballot, the Excess Repetitions Shall be Struck Off.
If a Ballot in Proportional Elections Contains More Names than Seats to be Allocated, the Last Pre-printed and not Handwritten Accumulated Names Shall be Struck Off, followed by the Last Handwritten Names.
Furthermore, the Names of Persons Who Are Not Listed on Any List or Election Proposal, or Who Are Insufficiently Designated, Shall Also be Struck Off.
1. Ballots may not be altered by the election committee.
1. The counting is public. Spectators are not allowed to participate in or disrupt the proceedings.
1. As the result of an election or vote, the aggregation of all counting results at the cantonal level, or, for the election of the Governors and for the election of the members of the Bernese Jura Council, at the administrative district level, shall apply.
2. The result is determined from the ballot papers and votes that have been personally placed into the ballot boxes by eligible voters or have been received by mail within the deadline, as well as from votes cast electronically.
3. Invalid and blank votes shall not be considered. However, their number must be determined.
1. If the outcome of a majority vote or a referendum under Article 26, paragraph 1 is very close, a recount shall be conducted.
2. The outcome of a vote is considered very close if the difference between the yes votes and the no votes is less than or equal to 0.1 percent of the valid votes. In a vote with a counterproposal or a popular initiative (counterproposal by eligible voters), the same difference is also decisive for answering the deciding question.
3. The outcome of a majority election is considered very close if the vote difference between an elected and a non-elected person is less than or equal to 0.1 percent of the votes of the elected person.
4. It is also considered very close if in the first ballot a person is not elected due to not achieving the absolute majority and the vote difference between their result and the absolute majority is less than or equal to 0.1 percent of the absolute majority.
5. The government council shall regulate the details by ordinance.
1. A voting proposal is adopted if the number of 'yes' votes exceeds the number of 'no' votes.
2. If there is a counter-proposal, a conditional motion, or a popular proposal (counter-proposal by eligible voters) to a voting proposal, and more than one of the proposals is adopted, the result of the tie-breaking question shall be decided according to Articles 138 and 139.
1. A candidate is elected in the first ballot if he or she receives the absolute majority of the votes.
2. If more candidates have achieved the absolute majority than there are seats to be filled, those with the most votes are elected.
3. In the second ballot (run-off election), a simple majority decides.
4. Provisions regarding seat guarantees remain reserved.
The total number of votes is divided by the number of seats to be filled and the result is halved. The next higher whole number is the absolute majority.
In the case of a simple majority, the candidate who receives more votes is elected.
1. If multiple candidates have received the same number of votes, the decision shall be made by drawing lots.
1. The result of the election or vote shall be announced to the public after its determination by communicating it to the media and on the internet.
2. Elected individuals shall be notified of their election. They must be informed about the provisions concerning the refusal of the election and incompatibility.
3. The State Chancellery shall publish the results in the cantonal official gazette no later than three weeks after the election or voting day.
1. The official determination of the results is carried out by
a) the Grand Council for the Grand Council elections,
b) the Government Council for
1. cantonal referendums,
2. Government Council and Council of States elections, and
3. elections of prefects,
c) the State Chancellery for the election of the Bernese Jura Council.
2. The competent authority officially determines the result of the election or referendum as soon as it is established that no complaints have been received, or as soon as a decision has been made regarding them.
3. The officially determined results are published in the cantonal official gazette.
1. The Cantonal Executive Council exercises oversight over the conduct of federal and cantonal elections and referenda.
2. The State Chancellery
a) directs the conduct of federal and cantonal elections and referenda,
b) oversees the conduct in collaboration with the District Government Offices,
b1) **\*** fulfills, together with the Financial Control, the tasks related to transparency in the financing of election and referendum campaigns (Art. 49a ff.),
c) carries out the implementation tasks assigned to it by this law.
3. The District Government Offices
a) coordinate the conduct of elections and referenda within the municipalities,
b) ensure the provision of information to the municipalities in this area,
c) fulfill the implementation tasks assigned to them by this law.
4. The municipalities conduct the federal and cantonal elections and referenda according to this law.
1. The municipalities elect an electoral committee for each voting district. The electoral committee must have at least five permanent or non-permanent members. The municipal regulations determine the composition.
2. The electoral committees ensure the operation of the polls and determine the results of the elections and referenda.
3. Three members of the electoral committee decide on the exclusion of a person from voting (Art. 13 para. 3).
4. The government council regulates the election of the electoral committees, their instruction, and further details of their activity by ordinance. It may allow electoral committees with three permanent or non-permanent members by ordinance in small municipalities.
The permanent members of the voting committees are required to participate in or remain available for all elections and votes that take place within the voting district during their term of office.
1. Non-permanent members of the voting committees are elected for each election or vote from among the eligible voters of the municipality.
2. All eligible voters of the municipality are obliged to periodically serve as non-permanent members of a voting committee as required.
3. Exemptions from the duty to participate in a voting committee are granted to
a. full-time judges,
b. members of the public prosecutor's office,
c. persons over the age of 60, and
d. persons for whom participation is unreasonable or impossible due to illness or other important reasons.
**1.** The municipalities may enlist their employees to, under the supervision of the voting committee,
**a** ensure the ballot service during early voting at the municipal office (Art. 52 para. 1 let. b),
**b** process votes submitted by mail in advance, and
**c** record the election results electronically.
**2.** The decision to exclude a person from voting is made exclusively by the voting committee.
1. Every residential and every mixed municipality forms an electoral district.
2. The Governing Council may, by regulation, divide municipalities into several electoral districts or allocate them to another electoral district. The municipalities concerned must be consulted beforehand.
3. For regional referenda according to Article 138 paragraph 4 and Article 149 of the Municipal Law of March 16, 1998 (GG)[[4]], the division of the electoral districts is in any case determined by paragraph 1.
1. To Exercise the Right to Vote
Only individuals who are registered in the electoral register are entitled to exercise the right to vote.
Every residential and mixed municipality maintains such a register of eligible voters who have their political residence in the municipality, as well as Swiss citizens living abroad who exercise their voting rights in the municipality.
Entries and deletions are continually made ex officio.
The electoral register is open to eligible voters for inspection.
Furthermore, the management of the electoral register is governed by federal law provisions.
1. Electoral registers are maintained electronically based on uniform principles.
The Government Council sets the election and voting days. In doing so, it takes into account the procedural duration for the preparation of the voting explanations.
Cantonal votes are to take place on the same days as federal votes whenever possible.
1. Proposals subject to mandatory referendum shall be submitted to a popular vote without delay, but no later than ten months after the Grand Council has passed a decision on them.
2. The same deadline applies to proposals subject to an optional referendum, starting once the Executive Council has determined the commencement of the referendum, or the Grand Council has adopted its decision on the validity of a popular proposal (counter-proposal by eligible voters).
3. The deadlines pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 are extended by six months if they begin to run between ten and three months before the next complete renewal of the National Council.
1. The election and voting days shall be announced in the cantonal official gazette and communicated to the government administrative offices and the municipalities.
1. The Cantonal Executive Council informs the eligible voters about the cantonal referendum proposals.
2. In doing so, it observes the principles of completeness, objectivity, transparency, and proportionality.
3. It presents the main positions represented during the parliamentary decision-making process.
4. It does not provide any voting recommendation that deviates from the position of the Grand Council.
1. Prior to each election or vote, the following documents shall be sent to eligible voters
a) a voting authorization,
b) the voting proposals along with the voting explanations (Art. 54),
c) the ballot papers,
d) for each proportional representation election, a complete set of voting papers with the names of the candidates, a blank voting paper, and the voting instructions,
e) for each majority vote, an official ballot and a list of the names of the persons proposed for election,
f) a reply envelope and, if necessary, a voting envelope for mail voting.
1. Eligible voters shall receive the voting materials (Art. 45 letters a and d to f) no earlier than 20 days and no later than 15 days before the election day.
2. For a second round of voting, they shall receive the ballot papers no later than ten days before the election day.
3. They shall receive the voting materials (Art. 45 letters a to c and f) no earlier than 28 days and no later than 21 days before the voting day.
4. If a vote takes place simultaneously with an election, the government council may set the delivery deadlines in deviation from paragraph 1 and 3 to allow for a joint dispatch of election and voting materials.
5. If special circumstances require so, the government council may order that only the identification card be sent to the eligible voters, and the official election or voting ballot be handed out to them in the voting room in exchange for the identification card.
6. If the election and voting materials, despite being sent on time within Switzerland, arrive too late to eligible voters abroad, or if the voting and election ballot of an eligible voter abroad arrives too late at the voting municipality, he or she cannot derive any legal consequences from this.
1. The State Chancellery arranges for the production of the voting and election materials. The Governing Council regulates the exceptions. In these cases, the State Chancellery issues the necessary instructions to the competent authorities.
2. The administrative offices of the government district governors ensure the timely delivery of the voting and election materials to the municipalities.
3. The municipalities ensure the timely delivery of the voting and election materials to the eligible voters and bear the costs of mailing the voting and election materials.
1. Eligible voters are provided with the promotional material of all participants during elections. Participants are defined as
a) in proportional elections, the political groups that contest with their own lists in the respective electoral district,
b) in majority elections, all candidates.
2. All participants running for election in the electoral district are entitled to participate in the joint distribution.
3. The administrative offices of the government prefects in the individual administrative districts organize the joint distribution of the promotional material.
4. In the event of a second round of voting, no promotional material will be distributed.
5. The government council regulates the details, particularly the registration deadlines for distribution and the reasons for exclusion, through an ordinance.
1. Municipalities bear the costs for the dispatch of promotional materials.
1. Natural and legal persons, as well as partnerships, who conduct a campaign as political actors with regard to an election for the Grand Council or the Government Council or a cantonal referendum, must disclose its financing if they spend more than 30,000 francs.
2. They fulfill this obligation by reporting the following information to the competent office of the State Chancellery on the corresponding digital platform
a) no later than 45 days before the election or referendum
1. their budgeted revenues,
2. monetary and non-monetary contributions that have been made or promised in the last twelve months before the election or referendum and exceed the value of 9,000 francs per contributor and campaign,
b) immediately on the day of the election or referendum
1. campaigns and contributions that are newly subject to disclosure,
2. the increase in contributions already subject to disclosure,
c) no later than 60 days after the election or referendum the total revenues.
3. If several persons or partnerships conduct a joint campaign, they must jointly report the budgeted revenues, the contributions, and the total revenues. Their expenditures and the monetary and non-monetary contributions granted to them must be combined.
1. For the election of the members of the Council of States from Bern, the disclosure obligation pursuant to Article 49a applies with the following thresholds
a) Campaigns: more than 50,000 francs,
b) Donations: more than 15,000 francs.
1. In reporting monetary and non-monetary contributions, the value and date of the contribution, as well as the first name, last name, and municipality of residence, or the company and registered office of the donor must be specified.
2. The donor of the contribution is considered to be the natural or legal person, or partnership, who originally provided the contribution to support the political actor.
3. The governing council shall regulate, by ordinance, the further modalities for reporting and publishing the information.
1. The Competent Authority of the State Chancellery
a) verifies the plausibility of the reported information,
b) alerts the political actors to missing or obviously incorrect information.
2. It publishes the reported information on the digital platform no later than five working days after their receipt.
1. Financial Control
a. examines, on a sample basis, the compliance with disclosure obligations by political actors within one year after the election or vote,
b. particularly checks the accuracy and completeness of the published information.
2. It may
a. require evidence and statements regarding the reported information as well as the campaign expenditures and their financing,
b. conduct on-site examinations.
3. The political actors affected by the examination must support the financial control in the fulfillment of its tasks, provide the necessary information, and grant access to the required documents.
1. The Financial Audit Authority prepares a report on the audits conducted and the results of the audit activities.
2. It gives political actors the opportunity to comment on the draft of the sections of the audit report that concern them and to submit a statement.
3. The audit report of the Financial Audit Authority, as well as any statements by the audited actors, are published on the digital platform.
1. Political actors are prohibited from accepting anonymous monetary and non-monetary donations exceeding 1,000 francs.
2. Anyone receiving a prohibited anonymous donation must
a. determine the source information in accordance with Article 49c, paragraph 1, or
b. if possible, return the donation; if a return is not possible or reasonable, the donation must be reported and delivered to the competent office of the State Chancellery.
1. The competent office of the State Chancellery and the financial control authority may communicate directly with the municipal authorities responsible for ensuring transparency in the financing of municipal election and referendum campaigns.
2. The authorities referred to in paragraph 1 may disclose information to each other, including personal data, that is necessary for the implementation of Articles 49a et seq. or the municipal law regarding transparency in the financing of election and referendum campaigns.
In each electoral district, at least one voting room along with the necessary ballot boxes shall be provided.
1. On the day of the election or vote, the polling stations must be open for at least one hour and must close no later than 12 p.m.
1. The municipal council may facilitate early voting by ensuring that on the last three days before the election or voting day
a. at least one voting room is open for at least one hour, or
b. eligible voters have the opportunity to submit their vote to a ballot box at a municipal office.
1. The canton maintains IT applications that support the determination of election and voting results and the necessary statistical evaluations.
2. Suitable machines may be used for the mechanical counting of ballots and voting slips. The government council shall provide further regulation by ordinance.
3. The state chancellery may approve the use of devices for the automated recording of ballots and voting slips in cantonal elections and votes.
4. The government council may mandate the use of devices according to paragraph 3.
1. The Voting Explanations (Message) are adopted by the competent authority of the Grand Council according to the procedure established in the Grand Council legislation.
2. They should be concise and factual, and must also account for the views of significant minorities.
3. In the case of initiatives and referendums, the initiative committee or the representation of the referendum petition shall communicate their position to the competent authority of the Grand Council, which shall take this into account in the voting explanations. Statements that are defamatory, grossly untruthful, or excessively long may be modified or rejected.
4. After the voting explanations are adopted by the competent authority of the Grand Council, its Secretariat publishes the title of the voting explanations in the cantonal official gazette and simultaneously makes the full text of the voting explanations publicly accessible on the internet.
1. The voter must answer the question on the ballot, whether he or she wants to accept the subject of the vote, in handwriting with Yes or No.
2. If there is a counter-proposal, a conditional request, or a popular proposal (counter-proposal by voters) regarding a voting template, the tie-breaker question is answered by marking the appropriate field by hand.
3. The provisions regarding electronic voting (Art. 18 para. 1) and the use of ballots that are suitable for automated processing (Art. 53 paras. 3 and 4) remain reserved.
1. Eligibility for the Grand Council, the Council of State, and the Council of States is granted to those who have the right to vote in the canton and are validly nominated for election.
2. Eligibility for the position of Government Commissioner is determined by Article 2 of the Act of March 28, 2006, on Government Commissioners (RStG).
3. Eligibility for the Bernese Jura Council is determined by Article 5, Paragraph 1 of the Act of September 13, 2004, on the Special Statute of the Bernese Jura and on the French-speaking minority of the Biel/Bienne administrative district (Special Statute Act, SStG).
If the same person is elected to multiple, mutually exclusive offices, the Council of Government shall request the elected person to declare, within a set deadline, which election they accept. If they do not declare, the decision shall be made by drawing lots (Art. 92).
If the election is incompatible with a position previously held by the elected person, the Council of Government shall request them to declare, within a set deadline, which office they choose. If they do not express a decision, the election shall be declared invalid.
If multiple persons are elected simultaneously to a body to which they cannot all belong at the same time, the Council of Government shall request those concerned to reach an agreement among themselves, within a set deadline, on who shall assume the office. If no agreement can be reached, the decision shall be made by drawing lots (Art. 92) to determine which of the considered persons shall be deemed elected.
If a person already elected comes into a situation of exclusion through the later election of another person, the later election shall be declared invalid, unless one of the two persons voluntarily resigns.
1. Anyone who declines their election must declare this in writing within eight days from receiving the election notice
a. to the Government Council for the election as a member of the Grand Council, for the election to the Government Council, for the election as a Berne member of the Council of States, as well as for the election as a Government Commissioner,
b. to the State Chancellery for the election to the Bernese Jura Council.
2. Anyone wishing to resign from their office before the end of the term must declare the resignation in writing
a. to the President of the Grand Council for the attention of the Government Council for members of the Grand Council,
b. to the President of the Government Council for members of the Government Council and Berne members of the Council of States,
c. to the Directorate of the Interior and Justice for Government Commissioners,
d. to the State Chancellery for members of the Bernese Jura Council.
1. The ballot papers shall bear the designation and sequential number of the list, the proposed candidates with their last and first names, year of birth, occupation, place of residence, and, where applicable, the note "incumbent," as well as all list and sub-list connections applicable to the list.
1. The State Chancellery shall announce the election day for the election of the National Council in the cantonal official gazette at least three months prior to the election. In doing so, it shall specify the relevant regulations for the submission of election proposals.
2. The Government Council shall determine the date for the submission of election proposals.
1. Submission of Election Proposals and Declarations: Election proposals and declarations related to election proposals must be submitted to the State Chancellery.
2. Review and Publication by the State Chancellery: The State Chancellery reviews and publishes the election proposals.
1. The governmental offices of the district governor determine the result of their administrative district based on the municipal results.
2. The State Chancellery determines the election results for the entire canton.
1. The territory of the canton is divided into the following electoral districts for the election of the Grand Council
1. Electoral District Berner Jura: Administrative Region Berner Jura
2. Electoral District Biel-Seeland: Administrative Region Seeland
3. Electoral District Oberaargau: Administrative District Oberaargau
4. Electoral District Emmental: Administrative District Emmental
5. Electoral District Mittelland-Nord: Municipalities as per Annex 1
6. Electoral District Bern: Municipality of Bern
7. Electoral District Mittelland-Süd: Municipalities as per Annex 2
8. Electoral District Thun: Administrative District Thun
9. Electoral District Oberland: Administrative Districts Obersimmental-Saanen, Frutigen-Niedersimmental, Interlaken Oberhasli.
2. The Government Council makes the necessary adjustments in Annex 1 or Annex 2 due to the formation, dissolution, or merger of municipalities. It adjusts Annex 1 or Annex 2 when it approves a change of a municipality's name.
1. The Government Council allocates the 160 seats among the electoral districts as follows
a Preliminary Allocation: The Bernese Jura district receives twelve seats and is excluded from further distribution.
b Main Distribution: The current population of the remaining electoral districts is divided by 148. Each of these districts receives as many seats as the division result fits into its population.
c Remaining Distribution: The districts with the largest remainder numbers each receive one of the remaining seats.
2. If, in the remaining distribution according to paragraph 1 letter c, two or more districts achieve the same remainder number, the decision is made by drawing lots (Art. 92).
3. Within the bilingual district of Biel-Seeland, the French-speaking population is guaranteed as many seats as corresponds to its percentage share of the French- and German-speaking population of the district. Fractions from five-tenths are rounded up.
4. The decision on the allocation of seats to the individual electoral districts must be made at least five months before the election day and published in the cantonal official gazette.
Each electoral nomination must bear an appropriate designation for its distinction from other electoral nominations.
A political group that submits multiple electoral nominations designates one of them as the main list.
If the electoral nominations differ according to regional criteria, no main list needs to be designated.
1. Persons proposed for election must meet the eligibility requirements (Art. 56).
2. A person may only be proposed in a single electoral district. In that district, they may only appear on one single nomination list.
3. A nomination list may contain no more names of eligible persons than there are mandates allocated to the electoral district. No name may be listed more than twice.
4. The nomination lists must specify the family and given names, date of birth, profession, residential address, and place of origin of the proposed persons.
5. Each proposed person must confirm their acceptance of the nomination. If confirmation is missing, their name shall be removed.
1. Each electoral proposal must be signed by at least 30 eligible voters residing in the electoral district.
2. A political group does not need to submit signatures in an electoral district where it obtained at least one seat in the last elections. In this case, the electoral proposal must designate a person authorized to represent and a deputy.
3. An eligible voter may not sign more than one electoral proposal. Once the electoral proposal has been submitted, they cannot withdraw their signature.
4. The signatories of an electoral proposal must designate a representative and their deputy. If they forgo doing so, the first and second signatories are considered to be the representative and the deputy, respectively.
5. The representative is authorized and obligated to make legally binding declarations on behalf of the signatories necessary for the resolution of electoral proposals. If they are unable to do so, the deputy exercises these rights and obligations.
1. Election proposals may be submitted starting on the 132nd day (nineteenth-last Monday) before the election day. They must be received by the office of the district governor responsible for the electoral district by no later than the 76th day (eleventh-last Monday) before the election day.
The political groups in the bilingual electoral district of Biel-Seeland may submit separate election proposals based on language. In this case, the lists must be combined (Art. 79).
1. The rectification is carried out, subject to paragraph 2, by the district governor's office responsible for the electoral district.
2. The state chancellery examines whether candidates are proposed in more than one electoral district and rectifies this accordingly.
1. If a nomination suffers from a defect, a period of no more than three days is set for the representative of the signatories, within which the defect must be remedied.
1. **Representative of the Signatories of a Nomination Proposal**
The representative of the signatories of a nomination proposal may submit substitute proposals for nominees who are not eligible or who must be removed, within the stipulated period (Art. 75). The individuals proposed as substitutes must declare in writing that they accept the proposal.
2. If the declaration of acceptance is missing, if the proposed person is not eligible, or if their name is already on another nomination proposal, the substitute proposal will not be accepted.
3. Unless otherwise requested by the representative, substitute proposals will be added at the end of the nomination proposal.
1. A proposed candidate who appears on more than one nomination list within an electoral district or is nominated in more than one electoral district shall be promptly requested by the competent authority to declare, by the 72nd day (the Friday before last eleven) before the election day, on which nomination list their name should appear.
2. If the individual nominated multiple times does not submit the required declaration within the specified period, their name shall be removed from all nomination lists.
1. Within the context of the settlement, amendments to already submitted election proposals can also be requested on behalf of the signatories (Art. 67 Para. 5). Amendment requests must be received by the office of the government commissioner responsible for the electoral district by the 69th day (the tenth last Monday) before the election day. The same deadline applies for the rectification of deficiencies.
1. If a nomination proposal is submitted late or a defect is not remedied within the set deadline, the nomination proposal is invalid.
2. If a defect only concerns individual nominees, only their names shall be removed.
1. If no proposals are submitted in a constituency in the correct form and within the deadline, any person eligible to vote on cantonal matters is electable.
2. If the adjusted proposals contain fewer candidates than the mandates assigned to the constituency, the candidates are declared elected by the Governing Council. For the remaining seats, any person eligible to vote on cantonal matters is electable.
3. Elected is the person who receives the most votes. In the event of a tie, the decision is made by lot (Art. 92).
4. The district governor's office responsible for the constituency shall announce in an official notification the absence of sufficient election proposals. The announcement shall reiterate the applicable provision of paragraph 1 or 2 as well as paragraph 3 applicable to the specific case.
1. If all the cleared nominations in an electoral district together have exactly as many candidates as there are seats to be allocated, the individuals proposed are declared elected by the governing council. The public election does not take place.
1. The finalized electoral proposals are called lists. The lists are assigned serial numbers.
2. Two or more lists can be connected by mutual agreement of their representatives no later than the 69th day (the tenth last Monday) before the election day. Sub-list connections are also permitted within a list connection.
3. The district governor's office responsible for the electoral district publishes the district's lists in the cantonal official journal as soon as possible. All list and sub-list connections must be mentioned in the publication of the lists.
1. Anyone using a ballot without a preprinted form may enter the names of candidates and indicate the designation or ordinal number of a list. Each name of a candidate may be listed twice (cumulated).
2. Anyone using a ballot with a preprinted form may
a. delete preprinted names of candidates,
b. enter names of candidates from other lists (cross-voting),
c. list the name of a candidate twice (cumulate), or
d. delete or replace the preprinted list designation and ordinal number with another designation or ordinal number.
1. Each name that is validly listed on a ballot is considered a candidate vote.
2. Votes for candidates who have passed away since the finalization of the nominations are also counted as such.
1. If a ballot paper contains fewer valid candidate votes than there are mandates allocated to the electoral district, the empty lines are considered as additional votes for the list whose designation or ordinal number the ballot paper bears.
2. Names not appearing on any list of the electoral district are crossed out. However, the votes attributed to them are counted as additional votes if the ballot paper carries a list designation or an ordinal number.
3. If there is no list designation or ordinal number, or if the ballot paper bears more than one list designation or ordinal number, the additional votes according to paragraphs 1 and 2 are not counted (blank votes).
4. If the list designation and ordinal number contradict each other, the list designation takes precedence.
5. If a political group submits multiple lists in an electoral district, additional votes on a ballot paper labeled only with the political group name are assigned to the main list. If a political group submits multiple lists in an electoral district, differentiated by regional criteria, the additional votes are allocated to the list corresponding to the region where the ballot paper was submitted.
1. The sum of the valid candidate votes and additional votes (party votes) of all lists in the electoral district is divided by the number of seats to be allocated plus one. Each list is allocated as many seats as the result rounded up to the next whole number is contained in its party vote total.
2. Thereafter, the party vote total of each list is divided by the number of seats already allocated to it plus one. The list that achieves the largest number in this process is allocated an additional seat. This procedure is repeated until all seats are distributed.
1. If the division according to Article 83 paragraph 2 results in two or more equal numbers, the list that has the largest remainder when divided according to Article 83 paragraph 1 shall have precedence.
2. If the party vote numbers of these lists are also equal, the list on which the relevant candidate person has received the most votes shall have precedence.
3. If the vote numbers of these candidates are also equal, the decision shall be made by drawing lots (Art. 92).
1. Each group of interconnected lists shall initially be treated as a single list.
2. The seats shall be distributed among the individual lists of the group in accordance with Articles 83 and 84.
**1.** From each list, the candidates who have received the most votes are elected according to the seats allocated to it. Articles 88 and 89 remain reserved.
**2.** The candidates who are not elected are alternates in the order of the votes received.
**3.** In the event of a tie, and subject to an agreement among the affected candidates, the order is determined by drawing lots (Art. 92).
1. If a list is allocated more seats than it has candidates, a supplementary election shall be held for the excess seats (Art. 91).
1. If the seat allocation according to Articles 83 to 85 in the bilingual electoral district of Biel-Seeland results in the inability to fill all the seats guaranteed by Article 64 paragraph 3 with French-speaking candidates, reallocations shall be made.
2. Reallocations are carried out within the mixed-language list groups of the same political grouping (Article 70) and must not alter the result of the seat allocation in the electoral district.
1. First, the party votes of the lists of French-speaking members are divided by the number of seats obtained pursuant to Articles 83 to 85, increased by one. Subsequently, the party votes of the lists of German-speaking members are divided by the number of seats obtained pursuant to Articles 83 to 85.
2. The division of the first quotient by the second quotient results in a proportional number (double quotient) for each mixed-language list group. The redistribution takes place in the list group with the highest proportional number.
3. In the case of equal proportional numbers, the decision is made by lot (Art. 92).
4. In the redistribution of multiple seats, the new situation is considered after each redistributed seat.
1. If an elected person declines their election or a member of the Grand Council leaves before the end of the term, the first substitute person or one of the next substitute persons on the respective list may succeed them.
2. The Government Council declares the first substitute person in the order of the list who accepts the office to be elected.
1. If there are surplus seats to be filled or a vacated seat cannot be filled by succession, at least 16 of the signatories of the relevant list (Art. 67 para. 1) or, in the case of a list without signatories (Art. 67 para. 2), the board of the political group that submitted the list, may submit a proposal within a deadline set by the government council.
2. After reviewing the proposal, the government council declares the person proposed by the signatories of the list or by the board of the political group to be elected.
3. If the signatories of the list or the board of the political group do not exercise their right to propose a candidate, or if they cannot agree on a candidate, the supplementary or replacement election shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions governing the election of the district governors, applied mutatis mutandis.
The drawing of lots pursuant to Article 57 paragraphs 1 and 3 and Article 64 paragraph 2 shall be conducted in a session of the Government Council by the President.
The drawing of lots pursuant to Article 77 paragraph 3, Article 84 paragraph 3, Article 86 paragraph 3, and Article 89 paragraph 3 shall be conducted by the Government Commissioner of the respective electoral district in the presence of the affected candidates or the representatives of the signatories of the affected lists.
1. For the election of the Constitutional Council, the provisions concerning the elections to the Grand Council shall apply.
1. For the election of the Bernese Jura Council, subject to paragraphs 2 to 4, the provisions regarding the election of the Great Council apply mutatis mutandis, with the exception of Articles 64, 70, 88, and 89.
2. For the election of the Bernese Jura Council, the administrative region of Bernese Jura constitutes the electoral district.
3. In the case of uncontested elections pursuant to Article 78, succession pursuant to Article 90, or supplementary or replacement elections pursuant to Article 91, the proposed candidates are declared elected by the State Chancellery.
4. The State Chancellery informs the Government Council of the officially determined election results (Art. 33 para. 1 let. c).
1. For the election of the Executive Council and the Bernese members of the Council of States, the canton forms a single electoral district.
1. A nomination list may contain no more names of eligible individuals than there are seats to be allocated. No name may be listed more than once.
2. The nomination lists must specify the family and given names, date of birth, occupation, residential address, and place of origin of the nominated individuals, as well as, if applicable, the note "incumbent."
3. An up-to-date passport photo of the nominated individuals must be attached to the nomination lists in electronic form.
1. Each electoral proposal must be signed by at least 30 eligible voters residing in the canton.
2. An eligible voter may not sign more than one electoral proposal. Once the proposal has been submitted, they cannot withdraw their signature.
3. The signatories shall designate a representative of the electoral proposal and their deputy. If they refrain from doing so, the persons who signed first and second shall be considered the representative and the deputy.
4. The representative is authorized and obligated to make legally binding declarations on behalf of the signatories necessary for the clarification of the electoral proposals. If they are unable to do so, the deputy shall exercise these rights and obligations.
1. The nomination proposals must be received by the State Chancellery no later than the 62nd day (the penultimate Monday) before the election day.
2. New candidates for an office must declare in writing that they accept the nomination.
1. The State Chancellery examines and rectifies the submitted election proposals.
2. If an election proposal contains a deficiency, a deadline of no more than three days is set for the representative to rectify the deficiency.
If an election proposal is submitted late or if a defect is not rectified within the set deadline, the election proposal is invalid. If the defect pertains only to specific nominees, only their names will be removed.
1. Withdrawals of election proposals must be received by the State Chancellery no later than the 58th day (the penultimate Friday) before the election day.
2. The proposed person must submit the withdrawal in writing.
1. If fewer candidates are duly nominated for election than there are positions to be filled, the procedure outlined in Articles 96 to 100 shall be repeated following a corresponding announcement in the cantonal official journal. If the number of nominated candidates remains below the number of available positions after this process, any person who meets the eligibility requirements shall be eligible for election.
2. The government council shall set a new election date (Art. 41).
1. The State Chancellery publishes the names of the candidates in the cantonal official gazette.
1. The candidates shall be listed on the name list attached to the voting material (Art. 45 let. e) in the following order
a. first, the current officeholders, listed alphabetically among themselves,
b. then, the new candidates, listed alphabetically among themselves.
2. The name list shall contain a passport photo for each person as well as additional information specified by the Executive Council.
3. It must also include a note indicating that only the persons listed on it are eligible for election.
On the ballot paper, as many names of candidates can be entered as there are members to be elected to the respective authority. Each name may be entered only once.
1. The determination of the elected individuals, as well as the announcement and the official ascertainment of the result, are governed by Articles 23 to 33.
1. The geometric mean, which is decisive for the allocation of the seat reserved for the Bernese Jura in the Executive Council (Art. 85 para. 4 of the Cantonal Constitution), is calculated as follows: The votes of each individual candidate are determined separately for the Bernese Jura and the entire canton and then multiplied together. The square root is then taken from the result of the multiplication.
2. If the candidate from the Bernese Jura with the highest geometric mean does not achieve an absolute majority in the first round of voting, the seat must remain vacant during seat allocation.
1. If not enough candidates have achieved an absolute majority in the first round of voting, a second round (run-off election) shall take place.
2. In the second round of voting, a simple majority decides. In the event of a tie, the decision is made by drawing lots. The drawing of lots is conducted in a session of the government council by the president.
3. The second round of voting generally takes place five weeks after the first round.
Eligible candidates are those who have received at least three percent of the valid votes in the first ballot.
This regulation does not apply if it results in not having enough candidates available for the second ballot.
Substitute candidacies in accordance with Article 111 are reserved.
1. Withdrawals must be received by the State Chancellery no later than Tuesday following the first ballot.
2. The candidate must submit the withdrawal in writing.
1. In the event of the withdrawal of a candidacy pursuant to Article 110, the majority of the signatories of the respective nomination proposal (Art. 97 para. 1) may propose a substitute candidate.
1a. Nomination proposals for substitute candidacies must be submitted to the State Chancellery by no later than the Thursday following the first round of voting.
2. ...
3. Additionally, Articles 96, Article 97 paragraphs 2 to 4, Article 98 paragraph 2, as well as Articles 99, 100, 102, 103, and 104 shall apply.
1. If an officeholder leaves office during their term, the government council shall order a by-election.
2. The conduct of the by-election is governed by the provisions applicable to the election of the government council and the Bernese members of the Council of States.
1. If, in a replacement election or a second ballot, the corrected electoral proposals list exactly as many candidates as there are seats to be filled, the governing council shall declare the proposed candidates elected. The public election process does not take place.
2. If one of the seats to be filled is the guaranteed seat for the Bernese Jura, a silent election can only occur if at least one candidate is proposed who is eligible for that seat (Art. 84 para. 2 Cantonal Constitution).
1. The election of the administrative governors takes place in the administrative districts.
1. A nomination may contain only the name of a single eligible person.
2. Otherwise, Article 96 paragraphs 2 and 3 shall apply.
1. Each electoral proposal must be signed by at least ten eligible voters residing in the administrative district.
2. Furthermore, Article 97 paragraphs 2 to 4 shall apply.
For the submission and rectification of the electoral proposals, Articles 98 to 101 and 104 shall apply.
If no candidates are registered in a timely manner in an administrative district, the procedure according to Articles 115 to 117 shall be repeated following a corresponding announcement in the cantonal official gazette.
A new election day will only be set once multiple candidates have been proposed for the respective position.
1. If there is only one valid nomination for a position, the Governing Council shall declare the respective candidate elected.
1. A public ballot takes place when more than one candidate has been validly proposed for a position.
2. The State Chancellery publishes the names of the candidates in the cantonal official gazette.
1. Articles 108, 109 paragraph 1, 110, 115, as well as 117 to 119, apply to the second round of voting.
1a. In the event of a withdrawal of candidacy pursuant to Article 110, the majority of the signatories of the respective electoral proposal (Art. 116 para. 1) may propose a replacement candidacy.
2. Proposals for replacement candidacies must be submitted to the State Chancellery no later than Thursday following the first round of voting.
1. If a regional governor leaves office during their term, the government council shall order a replacement election.
2. The conduct of the replacement election shall follow the provisions applicable to the ordinary election of regional governors.
1. The referendum may be initiated in accordance with Article 62 of the Cantonal Constitution.
1. Following the passage of laws and other resolutions subject to a referendum by the Great Council, the State Chancellery publishes their titles in the cantonal official gazette. The publication takes place no later than three weeks after the end of the session.
2. The full text of the referendum proposals is made available to the public on the internet simultaneously with the publication pursuant to paragraph 1.
1. Anyone wishing to file a referendum request must sign a petition sheet that contains the following information
a) the municipality in which all signatories of the sheet have their political residence,
b) the designation of the subject matter on which the referendum is being requested,
c) the latest possible deadline for the submission of signatures to the body maintaining the voting register (Art. 128 para. 1),
d) a note indicating that anyone who signs with a name other than their own or otherwise falsifies the outcome of the signature collection is liable to prosecution.
2. The petition sheets may contain additional information serving to legally inform the signatories.
3. A withdrawal clause is not permissible.
1. Only persons who are eligible to vote in cantonal matters and have their political residence in the municipality named on the signature sheet may sign a signature sheet.
2. The same referendum request may only be signed once.
3. The eligible voter must write their last name, first name, date of birth, and address legibly and by hand on the signature sheet and must also append their handwritten signature.
4. The personal information according to paragraph 3 may only be used for the identification of the signatories and for the verification of their eligibility to vote by the voter registration authorities and the State Chancellery.
Eligible voters who are unable to write may have their signature entered by an eligible voter of their choice. This person shall place their own signature next to the signature of the person unable to write and must maintain confidentiality regarding the signing.
1. The signature sheets must be submitted to the electoral register authority of the municipality named on the sheet for the issuance of the voting rights certificate no later than three months after the announcement of the referendum proposal (Art. 124).
2. The electoral register authority notes the office and the date of receipt on each sheet.
1. The authority responsible for maintaining the electoral register verifies whether the signatories were eligible to vote in cantonal matters at the time the signature sheets were received and had their political residence in the municipality.
2. It certifies the voting eligibility of the signatories. It strikes off, stating the reason, the names of any signatories who are not eligible to vote or not identifiable, as well as illegible, obviously forged signatures, or any excess in the case of multiple entries.
3. The signature sheets, along with the certification, must be returned to the individuals who submitted them no later than three weeks after their receipt.
1. The signature sheets with the voting rights certificates must be submitted to the State Chancellery no later than 30 days after the expiration of the referendum period.
2. Referendum requests cannot be withdrawn.
3. Signature sheets submitted to the State Chancellery will not be returned and cannot be inspected.
1. The State Chancellery examines whether the referendum request complies with constitutional and legal requirements.
2. It determines the total number of valid signatures.
1. The Government Council, upon the request of the State Chancellery, determines the success or failure of the referendum and, if necessary, orders the public vote.
2. In other cases, it determines that no referendum request has been submitted.
3. Decisions of the Government Council pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 are to be published in the cantonal official gazette.
1. A popular proposal (counter-proposal by eligible voters) may be submitted in accordance with Article 63 paragraph 3 of the Cantonal Constitution. It takes the form of a drafted proposal.
2. A popular proposal (counter-proposal by eligible voters) in the form of a simple suggestion is invalid.
1. If the popular initiative (counter-proposal by eligible voters) is to be submitted in both official languages, the texts must be presented to the State Chancellery for verification of linguistic consistency before the start of signature collection.
2. If the popular initiative (counter-proposal by eligible voters) has not been submitted for verification according to paragraph 1, it is invalid if the texts do not match in the two official languages.
1. The proceedings shall be governed by Articles 125 to 132 and the following special provisions.
2. Signature sheets must contain the text of the popular initiative (counter-proposal by eligible voters) and, in addition to explanations serving the legal instruction of the signatories (Art. 125 para. 2), may also include further explanations on the popular initiative (counter-proposal by eligible voters).
**1. If the People's Proposal (Counter-Proposal by Eligible Voters) has been realized, the Executive Council shall promptly submit it to the Grand Council, which shall decide on its validity in the next possible session. The provisions concerning the examination of the validity of initiatives apply (Art. 59 of the Cantonal Constitution).**
**2. The decision of the Grand Council regarding the validity of the People's Proposal (Counter-Proposal by Eligible Voters) is to be published in the cantonal official gazette.**
**3. The Grand Council can recommend to the eligible voters the acceptance or rejection of the People's Proposal (Counter-Proposal by Eligible Voters).**
**4. It can issue a recommendation to the eligible voters for the resolution of the tie-breaking question.**
A popular proposal (counter-proposal by voters) is always juxtaposed as a whole with the Grand Council's proposal. It is submitted to a popular vote at the same time as the Grand Council's proposal.
1. The eligible voters are presented with three questions on the same ballot paper
1. Do you want to accept the Grand Council proposal?
2. Do you want to accept the popular proposal (counter-proposal by eligible voters)?
3. If both the Grand Council proposal and the popular proposal (counter-proposal by eligible voters) are accepted by the electorate (tie-breaker question): Should the Grand Council proposal or the popular proposal (counter-proposal by eligible voters) come into force?
2. To answer the tie-breaker question, the corresponding field on the ballot paper must be marked.
3. The majority for each question is determined separately.
4. If both the Grand Council proposal and the popular proposal (counter-proposal by eligible voters) are accepted, the result of the tie-breaker question decides. The proposal that receives the majority of votes for this question comes into force.
5. In the event of a tie in the tie-breaker question, the higher number of "yes" votes in the main questions decides. If the number of "yes" votes is also equal, the greater surplus of "yes" votes in the main questions decides.
1. In votes involving multiple popular proposals (counter-proposals from eligible voters), both the primary and run-off questions are presented to the voters on the same ballot paper.
2. With the following primary questions, voters can indicate which proposals they wish to accept or reject
1. Do you want to accept the Great Council proposal?
2. Do you want to accept Popular Proposal A (Counter-proposal from Eligible Voters A)?
3. Do you want to accept Popular Proposal B (Counter-proposal from Eligible Voters B)?
3. The run-off questions are as follows
1. If both the Great Council proposal and Popular Proposal A (Counter-proposal from Eligible Voters A) are accepted by the people: Should the Great Council proposal or Popular Proposal A (Counter-proposal from Eligible Voters A) come into force?
2. If both the Great Council proposal and Popular Proposal B (Counter-proposal from Eligible Voters B) are accepted by the people: Should the Great Council proposal or Popular Proposal B (Counter-proposal from Eligible Voters B) come into force?
3. If both Popular Proposal A (Counter-proposal from Eligible Voters A) and Popular Proposal B (Counter-proposal from Eligible Voters B) are accepted by the people: Should Popular Proposal A (Counter-proposal from Eligible Voters A) or Popular Proposal B (Counter-proposal from Eligible Voters B) come into force?
4. To answer the run-off questions, the corresponding field on the ballot paper should be marked.
5. The majority is determined separately for each question.
6. If two proposals are accepted in the primary questions, the proposal that receives the greater number of votes in the corresponding run-off question comes into force. In case of a tie in the run-off question, Article 138 paragraph 5 is applicable.
7. If more than two proposals are accepted in the primary questions, the proposal that most frequently receives the greater number of votes in the relevant run-off questions comes into force; in case of equal frequency, the one with the highest total of supportive votes from all run-off questions.
1. An initiative may be submitted in accordance with Article 58 of the Cantonal Constitution.
The forms of simple suggestion and detailed draft must not be combined with each other.
If an initiative includes various matters, there must be a factual connection between them.
1. The initiative committee shall consist of at least seven persons entitled to vote.
2. The initiative petition shall specify the names and addresses of the members of the initiative committee. It shall indicate which members are authorized to represent the committee and, in particular, to withdraw the initiative (withdrawal clause).
1. Anyone wishing to submit an initiative petition must sign a signature sheet containing the following information
a) the municipality where all signatories of the sheet have their political residence,
b) the title and wording of the initiative,
c) the deposit date certified by the State Chancellery (Art. 145),
d) the latest possible deadline for submitting the signature sheets to the registering authority (Art. 146 para. 2),
e) the names and addresses of at least seven members of the initiative committee and those authorized to withdraw,
f) a note stating that it is a criminal offense, in particular, to sign with a name other than one's own or to otherwise falsify the result of the signature collection,
g) a withdrawal clause.
1. The initiative committee shall have the signature sheets reviewed by the State Chancellery before commencing the collection of signatures to ensure they comply with statutory regulations.
2. If the title of an initiative is misleading, contains commercial or personal advertising, or causes confusion, it shall be amended by the State Chancellery by order.
3. If the initiative petition is to be submitted in both official languages, the State Chancellery shall verify the linguistic consistency of the texts presented to it.
1. Prior to the commencement of the signature collection, three copies of the amended signature sheets must be deposited with the State Chancellery.
2. The period for collecting signatures begins upon this deposit (Art. 58 para. 2 of the Cantonal Constitution, Art. 146 para. 2).
For the signing of initiative requests and the certification of voting rights of the signatories, Articles 126 to 129 apply. However, the signature sheets must be submitted to the voting register authority no later than six months after their deposit (Art. 145 para. 1).
1. No later than seven months after the deposit (Art. 145 para. 1), the initiative committee must submit the signature sheets with the voting rights certificates to the State Chancellery.
2. Signature sheets submitted to the State Chancellery will not be returned and cannot be inspected.
1. The State Chancellery verifies whether the signature sheets correspond with the deposited ones and whether they have been submitted on time.
2. It determines the total number of valid signatures.
1. The Executive Council shall, upon request of the State Chancellery, determine the acceptance or rejection of the initiative within one month after submission of the initiative request (Art. 147 para. 1).
2. It shall submit the accepted initiative to the Grand Council within twelve months. If it assigns the competent directorate or the State Chancellery to draft a counter-proposal, this deadline is extended to 18 months.
1. The Grand Council decides within nine months from the transfer of the initiative by the Executive Council on its validity as well as on its acceptance or rejection.
1. If the initiative is in the form of a drafted proposal, the deadline under Article 150 is extended by nine months if the Grand Council or the preparatory commission decides to draft its own counter-proposal.
**If the Initiative Takes the Form of a Simple Suggestion**
If the initiative takes the form of a simple suggestion, the deadline under Article 150 is extended by nine months if the Grand Council decides, contrary to the request of the Government Council, to accept the initiative, or if the Grand Council or the preparatory committee decides to draft a proposal for a counter-proposal of its own.
If at the time of the deadline the Grand Council has not yet made its decision regarding the initiative and any potential counterproposal, the Executive Council shall order a popular vote on the initiative.
1. If the people have adopted an initiative in the form of a simple recommendation, the Grand Council shall decide on the enactment requested by the initiative within two years.
1. The decision of the Government Council regarding the establishment or non-establishment, as well as the decision of the Grand Council on the validity of the initiative, must be published in the cantonal official gazette.
1. If the initiative takes the form of a simple suggestion, withdrawal is permitted as long as the Grand Council has not decided to draft a corresponding proposal.
2. In other cases, withdrawal is permitted until the election date is set.
3. Withdrawal must be communicated to the State Chancellery in writing.
4. The Government Council acknowledges the withdrawal of the initiative and informs the Grand Council accordingly. The decision is published in the Cantonal Gazette.
1. If an initiative is presented in the form of a detailed draft and the Grand Council submits a counterproposal subject to an optional referendum, the initiative can be withdrawn on the condition that no referendum is initiated against the counterproposal or that a referendum is not successful.
2. The conditional withdrawal must occur within ten days from the Grand Council's decision on the counterproposal.
3. If a referendum is successfully initiated on the counterproposal, both the initiative and the counterproposal will be voted on. A popular proposal (counterproposal by eligible voters) is excluded.
1. The voting procedure for initiatives with a counterproposal is governed mutatis mutandis by Articles 137 and 138.
1. Any person may report irregularities or deficiencies in an election or vote or in connection with a popular initiative to the government council.
2. The government council shall order an official investigation if the reported irregularities or deficiencies are serious or not obvious.
3. It shall make the necessary arrangements to remedy any identified deficiencies, if possible, before the end of the election or voting process.
1. The investigation procedure is governed by the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act of May 23, 1989 (VRPG).
2. The investigation costs may be wholly or partially imposed on the municipality whose authorities are responsible for the irregularities.
1. In cantonal election and voting matters, the procedure is governed by the Administrative Procedure Act (VRPG), unless this law provides otherwise.
2. In federal election and voting matters, federal law applies. To the extent that federal law does not provide regulations for the appeal procedure before the Council of State, the provisions of this law and, additionally, the Administrative Procedure Act (VRPG) shall apply.
1. The appeal is admissible in electoral and voting matters, including questions of voting rights and incompatibility.
2. An appeal is inadmissible against acts of the Grand Council and the Government Council. In these cases, an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court is available (Art. 88 of the Federal Act of June 17, 2005, on the Federal Supreme Court [Federal Supreme Court Act, FSCA][8]).
The Administrative Court is the sole cantonal instance responsible for adjudicating appeals in cantonal election and voting matters.
It adjudicates as the sole cantonal instance appeals concerning municipal voting rights when cantonal voting rights are also in dispute.
The Government Council adjudicates as the sole cantonal instance appeals concerning cantonal or municipal voting rights when federal voting rights are also in dispute.
1. Any person who is particularly affected in cantonal election and voting matters by an act and has a legitimate interest in its annulment is entitled to file a complaint.
2. Furthermore, any person who is eligible to vote in the canton is entitled to file a complaint.
1. The appeal must be submitted within three days from the discovery of the grounds for appeal, but at the latest three days after the publication of the results (Art. 32 Para. 3).
2. The appeal period begins on the day following the discovery of the grounds for appeal or after the notification or publication.
3. If actions related to the preparation of an election or vote are contested and the three-day appeal period ends before the election or voting date, an appeal must be lodged against the preparatory act.
**Article [Translate the article number if it exists]**
The appeals authority dismisses complaints in cantonal election and voting matters without further examination if the alleged irregularities, in their nature or scope, were not capable of influencing the outcome of the election or vote (Art. 26 para. 1).
If the complaint in cantonal election and voting matters is received before the election or voting day, the decision on the complaint should, if possible, be issued swiftly enough to be effective for the election or vote.
The appeals authority takes the necessary measures to rectify deficiencies identified during the complaints procedure.
1. In appellate proceedings concerning cantonal elections and voting matters, no procedural costs shall be imposed, except in cases of frivolous or vexatious conduct.
2. The costs for special investigations within the framework of the appellate proceedings may be wholly or partially imposed on the municipality whose officials are responsible for the irregularities.
1. The government council shall issue the necessary implementing provisions for the execution of this law.
1. Employees of the cantonal and municipal administrations and members of municipal authorities and electoral committees who intentionally breach their official duties or who negligently commit a severe breach of official duties, as prescribed by this law or the implementing provisions, shall be punished by a fine.
2. Anyone who refuses to serve as a non-permanent member of an electoral committee and cannot claim an exception under Article 37, paragraph 3, shall be punished by a fine of up to 1,000 Swiss francs.
1. The following enactments are amended
1. Law of 13 September 2004 on the Special Statute of the Bernese Jura and on the French-speaking Minority of the Bilingual Administrative District of Biel (Special Statute Law, SSL)
2. Law of 8 November 1988 on the Grand Council (Grand Council Law; GCL)
3. Law of 28 March 2006 on the Governors (Governor Law; GL)
4. Law of 23 May 1989 on Administrative Justice (Administrative Justice Law; AJL)
5. Municipal Law of 16 March 1998 (ML)
6. Law of 1 February 2012 on the Protection of Children and Adults (Child and Adult Protection Law; CAPL)
7. State Contribution Law of 16 September 1992 (SCL)
1. The following enactments are repealed
1. Law of May 5, 1980, on Political Rights (GPR) (BSG 141.1),
2. Decree of May 5, 1980, on Political Rights (DPR) (BSG 141.11).
1. The government council determines the date of entry into force.