Act on the Exercise of Political Rights (Voting Act, AG) (Abstimmungsgesetz, AG) - Scope (LV)

1. This Act applies to

a. federal referendums, insofar as federal legislation does not prescribe otherwise;

b. * cantonal referendums;

c. municipal referendums;

d. * popular initiatives and referendums in cantonal and municipal matters.

2. Provisions concerning the proportional representation system of the Cantonal Council and the naturalization procedure remain reserved.

3. For public law corporations, sub-communities, and alpine cooperatives, the provisions of Chapters 2 and 5 shall apply mutatis mutandis, insofar as these entities do not have their own differing provisions.

1. Votes within the meaning of this law include both elections and decisions on matters of business.

1. To the extent that the voting legislation does not expressly provide otherwise, the provisions of the federal legislation concerning political rights shall apply mutatis mutandis.

1. Voting takes place at the political residence, namely in the municipality where the eligible voter resides and is registered.

2. The Government Council may grant exceptions at the request of the municipal council.

3. A person who deposits another document (such as a provisional, permanent residence, or domicile permit) instead of the home certificate acquires political residence only if they prove that they are not registered in the voting register at the location where the home certificate is kept.

4. If an eligible voter changes residence within the canton, the following regulations apply to their participation in cantonal votes

a. If the voting register is already closed for new entries at the time of registration, the previous residence remains the voting location for this vote;

b. The new residence becomes the voting location as soon as it is legally regulated before the closing of the voting register, and the eligibility to vote is reported for the voting register;

c. If the eligible voter has already received the voting certificate at the previous residence, they must submit it for the voting register at the new residence if they wish to vote there.

5. Travellers exercise their right to vote in their home municipality.

1. Entitled to vote is anyone who, according to the constitution, is capable of voting and is registered in the electoral register.

2. Excluded from the right to vote is anyone who, due to permanent incapacity to judge, is under comprehensive guardianship or is represented by a person assigned under a power of attorney.

3. Considered as excluded from eligibility, within the meaning of Art. 46 para. 1 of the Constitution, are persons who are permanently incapable of judgment, under comprehensive guardianship, or represented by a person assigned under a power of attorney.

1. Incompatibility of Official Duties Must Be Addressed by Rejection of Election or Resignation.

2. Cantonal and municipal officials and employees may only be nominated and elected to an authority incompatible with their position if they expressly consent before the election and thereby relinquish their status as officials or employees. The elected individual must resign from their previous position within no more than four months following the election.

1. No one may be proposed for election if there is a reason of incompatibility concerning an already elected individual, whose term of office has not yet expired, applicable to that person's circumstances.

1. There are no grounds for disqualification from participating in municipal assemblies and votes.

2. During elections, the assembly leader, the vote counters, and the members of the electoral office cannot serve if they themselves are candidates, or if they are married to, in a registered partnership with, directly related to, or related by affinity up to the second degree in the collateral line with a nominee, or if they live in a de facto cohabitation.

1. In the calculation of time limits, the day on which the time limit begins to run is not counted.

2. If the last day of a time limit falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a public holiday applicable to the entire canton, the period ends on the next working day.

3. A time limit is only deemed to have been met if the action is taken within the period. Written submissions must be received by the designated authority by no later than 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the period.

4. The provisions regarding the suspension of deadlines pursuant to the State Administration Act or the Court Organization Act do not apply.

5. The Government Council may amend the time limits stipulated in this law and in the law governing the election of the Cantonal Council for election procedures or for decisions on substantive matters in justified cases, either in implementing regulations regarding the electoral order or in a circular concerning the popular vote.

6. The Municipal Council may amend the time limits set forth in this law for the election procedure in individual elections to municipal authorities or for decisions on substantive matters in justified cases.

1. The Government Council may, in agreement with the Federation and the interested municipalities, allow localized, temporary, and specific trials for electronic voting.

2. The control of voting eligibility, the secrecy of the vote, and the recording of all votes must be ensured, and misuse excluded.

3. The Government Council regulates the details in implementing provisions.

1. No fees may be charged for official acts based on this law. In the case of vexatious complaints or those contrary to good faith, the costs may be imposed on the complainant.

1. The place, time, and agenda of the municipal assembly must be announced in the official gazette at least three weeks in advance.

2. The municipal assembly may only vote on matters that have been announced on the agenda.

3. The proposals for resolutions and the related documents necessary for informing the citizens entitled to vote must be made publicly available at the municipal office or, where none exists, at an appropriate location announced by the municipal council at the same time as the publication of the agenda.

4. In the case of credit applications, the gross costs must be listed in the agenda.

1. Voters who disrupt the proceedings shall be warned by the meeting chairperson. In the event of a repeat occurrence, the chairperson shall intervene with appropriate measures and may, if necessary, withdraw the speaker's right to speak.

2. If the orderly conduct of the meeting is seriously disrupted, the disruptors may be expelled from the hall by a majority decision of the municipal councilors present, or, in extreme cases, the meeting may be dissolved.

1. The proceedings of the municipal assembly are public.

2. A special place is allocated to the audience. They must conduct themselves quietly and refrain from any disruptive actions.

3. Anyone who disrupts the proceedings will be warned by the assembly leader and, in case of recurrence, expelled from the hall; in the event of persistent or organized disturbances, the assembly leader may have the audience area cleared.

1. Substantive motions, with the exception of referendum petitions, and election proposals may be withdrawn until the first vote.

1. Voting at municipal assemblies is conducted by a show of hands.

2. The result is determined by the vote counters and is final.

1. The municipal assembly elects the scrutineers from among its members.

2. The scrutineers are to be deployed collectively for the entire assembly or in pairs for counting in locally limited sections.

3. They are entitled to count their own votes.

1. The chairman of the meeting is entitled to express and have his vote counted.

2. During voting, he must adhere to the established procedure for casting his vote.

1. The result of the vote shall be announced to the assembly by the chairperson immediately after the vote counters report.

1. In the event of a tie vote, the ballot must be repeated within four weeks using the polling procedure.

2. In the case of a tie vote on substantive motions, the motions shall be considered rejected.

3. No new nominations may be submitted during elections.

1. In transactions involving property, a member of the municipal council initiates the official request.

2. A signatory is entitled to speak first during negotiations concerning an initiative and second during negotiations concerning a referendum.

3. Subsequently, the inquiry is addressed to the municipal assembly.

1. If a municipal assembly votes on proposals for the enactment or amendment of a local planning ordinance, non-voting property owners have the right to express their views on the matter under discussion prior to the assembly.

1. Every eligible voter may submit proposals for amendments, referrals back, rejections, as well as procedural motions regarding the municipal council's proposals.

2. A vote on the official proposal will only be taken if a motion for amendment, rejection, or referral back has been submitted, or if the presiding officer or the municipal council orders the vote as an exception.

1. Amendment proposals must be submitted separately for each business, in writing and with a brief justification, to the municipal office no later than one week before the meeting.

2. The amendment proposals shall be distributed in writing to the voters by the municipal office at the meeting or posted in a clearly visible manner.

3. Amendment proposals must maintain the unity of the subject matter with the main proposal.

4. The municipal council shall not put forward unlawful or unjustified proposals for a vote.

5. Amendment proposals are not permissible in local planning matters.

1. After the conclusion of the survey, the chairperson of the meeting summarizes the motions and calls for a vote. Contingent motions are to be voted on first.

2. The proposal, which has been refined during individual deliberation, must be voted on as a whole in a final vote.

3. Prior to the final vote, the assembly may decide that it should be conducted by secret ballot, whether at the municipal assembly or by a voting procedure outside the municipal assembly.

1. Motions for postponement and concerning procedures are procedural motions.

2. If a procedural motion is submitted, the deliberation on the proposal is suspended until it is resolved.

1. The vote counters individually report their results to the assembly leader. The majority must be consistently apparent from the reports of the vote counters.

2. If the result is not consistent, a recount shall take place.

3. The procedure for the recount is determined by the assembly leader or, if the assembly disagrees with his proposal, by the assembly itself. If necessary, a vote on the procedure is conducted first.

1. The chairperson of the meeting requests nominations from the assembly.

2. Proposals made after the conclusion of the polling are invalid.

3. The chairperson repeats the nominations in the order they were received and submits them individually to the vote.

1. An election is deemed to have occurred when a candidate has achieved the absolute majority of those voting.

2. If no election occurs, the proposal receiving the fewest votes is successively eliminated from the election. If the tellers cannot unanimously determine who is to be eliminated, a count occurs.

3. ...

1. The municipal assembly may decide to conduct a vote secretly during or immediately after the assembly.

2. Only agenda items of the municipal assembly may be subject to this vote.

3. The chair of the meeting determines the method of conducting the vote. He must ensure appropriate control of the eligible voters.

4. The necessary voting materials must be kept available at all times.

5. The ballot boxes remain open until the chair of the meeting, after clearly inquiring if anyone else wishes to vote, declares the closure of the vote.

6. The result is determined immediately by the vote counters of the municipal assembly and is final. It is announced to the assembly and published in the official gazette.

7. The provisions regarding the ballot box procedure apply accordingly.

1. Subject to the ballot procedure are

a. federal votes;

b. * cantonal votes;

c. * ...

d. municipal votes

1. in the general renewal of the municipal council;

1a. * for initiatives in the form of a drafted proposal for the enactment, amendment, or repeal of ordinances and generally binding regulations with a counter-proposal;

2. * when the municipal assembly or the municipal council decides so;

3. * when one hundred eligible voters or, in municipalities with fewer than one thousand voters, ten percent of the eligible voters submit a specific written request to the municipal council within ten days after the publication of the agenda for a separate ballot on a specific item;

4. * in the event of a tie after an open vote in elections;

5. when provided for by the municipal ordinance.

1. Federal and cantonal voting referendums are conducted in the municipalities.

2. The voting must be conducted on the same days in all municipalities.

1. The agenda and date of a ballot vote must be published in the official gazette at least six weeks in advance.

2. In the case of elections, the period is at least eight weeks. With the publication, a call to submit election proposals must be made.

1. An electoral identification card must be issued to the voter, which must be marked as an official document.

2. The electoral identification card contains the information necessary for identifying the person of the voter.

2a. The electoral identification card entitles the holder to participate in the election for which it was issued.

3. If voting rights differ, the electoral identification cards must be distinguished by a clearly visible imprint.

1. The voter identification card as well as the voting and election ballot must be delivered by the municipality to eligible voters at least three and no more than four weeks before the voting day. The voting proposal and the explanatory report may also be provided earlier.

2. The voting proposal and the explanatory report must also be made generally accessible electronically. Only for important reasons can exceptions be made to this requirement.

1. The municipalities shall store the blank voting rights certificates, the empty voting envelopes, as well as the voting and election ballots, in a locked archive room or cabinet.

1. Eligible voters may cast their vote in person at the ballot box or by mail.

2. When voting, eligible voters must return their voting identification card.

3. The secrecy of the vote must be maintained.

1. Voters are allowed to vote by mail as soon as they receive the official voting materials

a. during regular office hours at the municipal office;

b. by returning via postal service;

c. * by depositing in the municipality's voting mailbox.

2. The vote cast by mail must be received by the electoral office on the voting day before the closing of the polls, accompanied by the signed voter's identification card.

3. The Cantonal Council shall regulate the details of the voting facilitation measures by ordinance.

1. Eligible voters who are permanently unable to perform the actions necessary for voting due to disability or another reason may appoint an eligible person of trust to assist them. The person of trust shall fill out the ballot paper following the instructions and in the presence of the eligible voter and shall perform further actions at the polling station or when voting by mail.

2. A person of trust can act for only one eligible voter during mail-in voting. At the polling station, only members of the electoral office are permitted to assist as a person of trust. The person of trust is obliged to maintain confidentiality regarding the contents of the vote.

1. The eligible voter must cast their vote personally at the ballot box; representation is prohibited.

2. In the case of postal voting, the sealed ballot envelope may be delivered by third parties to the post office, the municipality's voting mailbox, or the municipal office.

1. The systematic collection, completion, or alteration of voting and election ballots, as well as the distribution of already completed or altered voting and election ballots, is prohibited.

1. Ballot Papers and Voting Papers shall be invalid if they

a. * are not official;

b. * are not intended for this particular vote or election;

c. * are filled out or altered in a manner other than handwritten;

d. * do not clearly convey the voter's intent;

e. * contain defamatory statements or explicit marks;

f. * ...

g. * are systematically collected, filled in, or altered;

h. * are not stamped when cast in person;

i. * contain more names than there are seats to be filled in elections.

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1. In the case of voting by mail, the vote is also invalid if

a. it arrives at the voting office after the closing of the polls;

b. the voting certificate is not enclosed;

c. the voting certificate is not signed;

d. there are multiple identical or non-identical voting or election ballots in the voting envelope for the same referendum or election;

e. the voting or election ballot is in a non-official or unsealed voting envelope.

1. A ballot paper is considered void if it contains no vote.

2. If the voting envelope for the referendum or election contains no ballot paper, it is counted as "no vote" or "not voted".

1. The Municipal Council elects an electoral office for a term of four years following the general renewal elections of the Municipal Council. The number of regular and substitute members is determined by the number of ballot boxes to be set up. The Municipal Council appoints a president and a deputy.

2. The management and execution of the ballot box votes are entrusted to a committee from the electoral office.

3. At each ballot box, at least two members of the electoral office must be present during the open hours of the ballot boxes to ensure the proper conduct of the procedure.

4. A protocol of the vote must be recorded, signed, and deposited in the municipal archive by the electoral office.

5. The Municipal Council may call in additional vote counters if necessary.

1. The Government Council or the Municipal Council informs the voters about the voting proposals. In doing so, they adhere to the principles of completeness, objectivity, transparency, and proportionality.

2. The Government Council or the Municipal Council explains the voting proposals in a brief, factual message (voting explanations), which also takes into account the views of significant minorities. It includes the wording of the questions posed on the ballot.

3. In the case of popular initiatives and referendums, the proposing committees communicate their arguments to the Government Council or the Municipal Council; this is considered in the explanatory message. The Government Council or the Municipal Council may amend or reject statements that are defamatory, blatantly false, or excessively lengthy.

1. In the voting on initiatives and counterproposals, voters are presented with three questions on the same ballot. Each voter can declare without restriction

a. whether they prefer the initiative to the current law;

b. whether they prefer the counterproposal to the current law;

c. which of the two proposals should come into force if both the initiative and the counterproposal are adopted.

2. All three questions can be answered independently of each other. The absolute majority is determined separately for each question. Unanswered questions are disregarded.

3. If both the initiative and the counterproposal are adopted, the result of the third question decides.

1. The Cantonal Council regulates the voting procedure through an ordinance.

1. The election of the cantonal council is conducted according to the proportional representation system, while the other elections are conducted according to the majority voting system, with due consideration given to minorities.

1. Resignations from authorities at the end of a term of office are generally to be announced by the end of November of the previous year.

2. If a member of an authority is elected to another authority or appointed to another public office during the term of office, or if there are professional, health-related, or other important reasons, the Cantonal Council may grant early resignation during the term of office to members of authorities elected by the public. The Governing Council may grant this to other cantonal authority members, and the Municipal Council to communal authority members.

3. Members of authorities elected by the Cantonal Council may declare their early resignation to the electoral authority for the same reasons at any time, effective at the end of the month, with a notice period of four months.

4. The resignation request or declaration must be submitted to the authority responsible under Article 35a paragraphs 2 and 3 of this law, if necessary, through the relevant administrative supervisory authority.

1. The election proposals may contain no more names of eligible persons than the number of representatives to be elected.

2. If several representatives are to be elected, the individual candidate names must be listed in a column.

3. If an election proposal contains an excess of names, the last ones shall be deleted by the municipal council.

1. Election proposals may be submitted in writing to the municipal office by the 41st day (the sixth last Monday) before election Sunday. They must be marked with a designation to distinguish them from other election proposals.

2. The election proposal must list the candidates with surname, first name, profession, and residential address; if necessary, the year of birth must be specified.

1. Each nomination paper must be personally signed by at least five eligible voters residing in the respective municipality.

2. The first signatory is authorized and obliged to make legally binding declarations on behalf of the signatories in order to resolve any objections.

3. An eligible voter may not sign more than one nomination paper for the same election.

4. Once the nomination paper has been submitted, the voter cannot withdraw their signature.

1. An electoral proposal may be withdrawn by the first signatory, in agreement with the proposed person, by written declaration to the municipal council up to the 39th day (the sixth-to-last Wednesday) before election Sunday.

1. The election proposals shall be available for inspection starting from the 41st day (the sixth last Monday) before the election Sunday at the municipal office or, if none exists, at a suitable location announced by the municipal council.

1. The nomination proposal must include a declaration from the proposed person that they consent to their candidacy.

2. If such a declaration is missing, the municipal council sets a deadline for the proposed person until the 39th day (the sixth last Wednesday) before election Sunday to potentially decline.

3. If a proposed person declines, their name shall be officially removed from the nomination proposal.

1. If a proposed person appears on more than one nomination, the municipal council shall request the person to declare by the 39th day (the sixth last Wednesday) before the election Sunday on which nomination their name should remain. If no declaration is made, the municipal council shall decide by lot. The name shall be deleted from the other nominations.

1. The municipal council examines the electoral proposals for compliance with legal requirements and the validity of the signatures.

2. It removes the names of ineligible candidates and sets a deadline for the signing persons until the 37th day (the sixth last Friday) before the election Sunday, within which they can submit substitute proposals for officially removed nominees, improve the designation of nominees, or change the designation of the electoral proposal for the purpose of clearly distinguishing it from other proposals.

1. No changes may be made to the corrected electoral lists.

2. They shall be assigned a serial number, which is to be drawn by the municipal council.

3. The municipal council shall have the electoral lists printed in groups on a ballot paper, in the order of their numbering and in a clearly distinguishable layout under the submitted designation. The addition of "incumbent" or "new" behind the candidate names is permitted.

1. The voter may only cast their vote for a candidate who is listed on the ballot.

1. The election is valid if, in the first ballot, an absolute majority of the valid votes is achieved, and in the second ballot, a relative majority is decisive. The absolute majority is determined collectively for all candidates of an authority.

2. If, in the first ballot, more candidates than are to be elected, or candidates who cannot simultaneously belong to the same authority, achieve the absolute majority, those with the higher number of votes are considered elected.

1. A second round of elections, if necessary, shall generally be held five weeks after the first round.

2. Candidates not elected in the first round shall be listed again on the ballot for the second round unless they withdraw their candidacy by submitting a written declaration to the municipal office by the Wednesday following the first round. New nominations must be submitted to the municipal office no later than the Thursday after the first round.

3. The provisions of Article 36 et seq. of this law, excluding Article 39, shall be applied accordingly; for cantonal elections and complete municipal renewal elections, the deadlines shall be determined by the government council, and for individual municipal elections, by the municipal council.

4. In the event of a tie, the municipal council shall decide by drawing lots.

1. If the total number of candidates does not exceed the number of representatives to be elected, the candidates shall be declared elected without an election procedure by the municipal council.

2. If the total number of candidates is less than the number of representatives to be elected, the candidates shall initially be declared elected. Supplementary elections for the unfilled seats shall be held in accordance with the provisions applicable to the main elections.

3. If there are no electoral proposals, voters may vote for any eligible persons; those who receive the most votes are elected. In the event of a tie, the municipal council shall decide by lot.

1. The provisions of Art. 36 et seq. of this law concerning general renewal elections shall apply mutatis mutandis to individual elections unless specified otherwise below.

2. Election proposals, with the exception of those for the National Council or the Council of States, may contain more names than representatives to be elected.

3. In the first ballot, the municipal council shall have the names of the proposed candidates printed on a ballot paper with the indicated designation in a randomized order. The ballot paper must indicate the number of members to be elected to the respective authority.

4. A second ballot is generally to be held within five weeks after the first ballot.

5. The municipal council may decide that the election of the presidency and vice-presidency of the municipal council shall be conducted together with the general renewal elections.

6. A by-election may be omitted if general renewal elections are to be held within six months.

1. Eight weeks before election Sunday, the Government Council shall call for the submission of nominations for the National Council election in the official gazette.

2. Each nomination must be signed by at least five enfranchised individuals residing in the canton.

3. Each nominee must confirm in writing that they accept the nomination. If the confirmation is missing, their name will be removed.

4. Nominations can be submitted to the State Chancellery by 12:00 PM on the 48th day (7th Monday) before election Sunday. If only one valid candidacy is registered by this time, the Government Council shall declare the registered person elected.

1. The election of the member of the Council of States is carried out in the same manner as the National Council election. Elected is the candidate who achieves an absolute majority in the first ballot, and a relative majority in the second ballot.

2. The term of office and the office year of the member of the Council of States correspond to those of the National Council.

1. The provisions of Articles 36 et seq. and 53 of this law shall apply mutatis mutandis to the elections of the members of the Government Council, as well as the presidencies and members of the High Court, the Administrative Court, and the Cantonal Court, unless otherwise specified below.

2. The constituency is the canton. The tasks and powers assigned to the municipal council in the voting legislation shall be exercised by the Government Council. It may transfer individual tasks and powers to the State Chancellery in circulars and election orders.

3. ...

4. For nominations for court presidencies, the fulfillment of the statutory eligibility requirements must be demonstrated. For the election, the residence required for voting rights (Article 46 paragraph 1 KV) must be established no later than the commencement of office.

5. Article 52 paragraph 3 of this law shall not apply to the election of court presidencies.

1. The signature lists for popular initiatives must not differ from each other in form and content. They must include

a. the municipality in which the signatories have their political residence;

b. the wording of the popular initiative with rationale;

c. the names and addresses of an initiative committee consisting of at least three members, as well as those entitled to withdraw;

d. an unconditional withdrawal clause;

e. * a notice that it is a criminal offence to falsify the outcome of the signature collection for a popular initiative (Art. 282 of the Criminal Code) or to bribe or to be bribed during the signature collection (Art. 281 of the Criminal Code).

2. If several popular initiatives are presented for signature, each initiative shall be the subject of its own signature list.

3. Anyone who downloads a signature list for a popular initiative provided electronically is responsible for ensuring that it complies with all legal form requirements.

1. Before initiating the collection of signatures for cantonal popular initiatives, the initiative committee must have the State Chancellery examine whether the signature lists comply with the legal requirements.

2. The results of this preliminary examination must be communicated to the initiative committee within one month.

1. Any person wishing to sign a petition for a referendum must clearly and legibly record their last name, first name, year of birth, and address on the signature list, and affix their signature in their own handwriting.

2. Eligible voters who are unable to write may have the signing done by an eligible person of their choice, who shall place their own signature next to the name of the person unable to write.

3. Only eligible voters from the municipality mentioned at the top of the list may sign on the same signature list.

1. The signature lists must be submitted in full to the State Chancellery for cantonal popular initiatives and to the municipal chancery for municipal popular initiatives.

2. The State Chancellery or the municipal chancery shall have the signing individuals’ voting eligibility certified by the authority responsible for the electoral register.

3. The certification must state the number of certified signatures in words or figures.

4. The certification of voting rights shall be refused if the requirements of Art. 53f of this law are not met. The refusal of a voting rights certification must be briefly justified.

5. If an eligible person has signed more than once, only one signature will be certified.

6. The signature lists must be treated confidentially and are not subject to the law on the principle of public access.

1. The State Chancellery examines whether the signature lists comply with the formal requirements, determines the number of valid signatures required to meet the constitutional quorum, and publishes the decision regarding its realization in the Official Gazette.

2. The Cantonal Council decides on the validity or invalidity of the popular initiative.

1. In the case of municipal referendums, the examination pursuant to Art. 53h para. 1 of this law is the responsibility of the municipal office.

2. The municipal council decides on the validity or invalidity.

1. A popular initiative in the form of a general suggestion can be withdrawn as long as the competent authority has not addressed it on its own accord.

2. In other cases, withdrawal is permissible until the referendum is scheduled.

3. The withdrawal is valid if it has been decided by the majority of those entitled to withdraw. It must be published.

1. The aforementioned provisions apply mutatis mutandis to the people's motion. However, it may, in any case, be initiated by a single person.

1. The signature lists for referendums must not differ in form or content. They must include

a. the municipality in which the signatories have their political residence;

b. the designation of the enactment or financial resolution with the date of the decision by the Cantonal Council or the Municipal Council;

c. * a note that any person who falsifies the result of the signature collection for a referendum request (Art. 282 of the Penal Code) or who bribes or accepts a bribe in the course of the signature collection (Art. 281 of the Penal Code) is subject to criminal liability.

2. The signature lists may contain additional information relevant to the signatories.

3. A withdrawal clause is not permitted.

4. Art. 53d paragraphs 2 and 3 of this law also apply to referendums.

1. The provisions established for popular initiatives regarding the signing of the list (Art. 53f), its submission, and the voting rights certificate (Art. 53g) apply mutatis mutandis to referendum petitions.

2. Referendum petitions cannot be withdrawn.

1. The State Chancellery or the Municipal Chancellery examines whether the referendum petition meets the constitutional and legal requirements; it determines the number of valid signatures required to reach the constitutional quorum and publishes the official order regarding its validation in the Official Gazette.

2. The Government Council or the Municipal Council orders the popular vote, if applicable.

1. Votes of the canton and the municipality can be contested through a written and reasoned complaint to the Government Council

a. due to violations of voting rights (voting rights complaint);

b. due to irregularities in the preparation or conduct of the vote (vote complaint).

1. The complaint must be submitted

a. * due to irregularities in the preparation and conduct of voting within three days after the complainant has become aware or should have become aware of the irregularity;

b. * against a decision that is delivered, within three days of its delivery;

c. * against a decision that is published, within three days of its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. The deadline for filing the complaint, in the cases of paragraph 1 letter a, is to follow mutatis mutandis Art. 77 para. 2 of the Federal Act on Political Rights[7].

3. The complaint must be submitted in a timely manner and by registered mail, or must have been handed over to the appeal authority in a timely manner.

1. The filing of voting rights and voting complaints is permitted for those eligible to vote.

2. Procedural defects that occurred during a municipal meeting can only be invoked as grounds for a complaint if they were objected to by the complainant during the meeting when the relevant business was being discussed.

1. The appeal does not have a suspensive effect during a voting procedure, but it does after its conclusion. The appellate instance can issue different orders.

1. The Cantonal Council shall issue the necessary implementing regulations by ordinance.

1. ...[8]

1. Upon the entry into force of this Act, the provisions that contradict it are repealed, in particular

a. the Act on Secret Voting in Federal Elections and Referendums of April 30, 1911,

b. the Act on Voting and Election Procedure in Municipalities of May 24, 1959;

c. the Cantonal Council Decision regarding the Authorization of the Government Council to Regulate the Procedure for Cantonal Referendums of April 1, 1922;

d. the Ordinance on the Ceremony and Procedure at the Landsgemeinde (Landsgemeinde Ordinance) of November 13, 1975.

1. This law shall enter into force upon acceptance by the people.

1. The executive council is entrusted with the execution.