Objective

1. The Office of the Grand Council (hereinafter: Office) diligently and timely prepares the elections conducted by the Grand Council. It ensures the proper and correct execution of the elections and, to the extent that election secrecy and data protection regulations permit, ensures transparency.

1. The office establishes the schedule for the general renewal elections at an early stage.

2. The Justice Commission prepares the general renewal elections for the judicial authorities in accordance with their regulations on judicial elections for the office’s attention and submits a report with motions and election proposals. It observes the schedule for the general renewal elections in this process.

3. If the election is conducted at the request of the government council or, in the case of the education council, the cantonal conference, it or they shall submit a report and motion with election proposals to the office.

4. For the other authorities, the parliamentary service clarifies on behalf of the office who is standing for re-election.

5. The factions are invited to inform the competent authority of any concerns about a person standing for re-election as early as possible during the election preparation process.

6. In addition to the report and motion, a curriculum vitae must be made available to the office for first-time candidates. For those standing for re-election, the re-election motion is usually sufficient.

7. The office reviews the election proposals of the applicants. It may request further information from the applicants.

1. Within the context of the overall renewal elections, only those positions/functions that need to be filled anew will be publicly advertised. The provisions and exceptions according to section 6 of these guidelines apply.

1. After the completion of the election preparation process, the office forwards the election proposals (including resumes for first-time candidates) to the Great Council. It can comment on the election proposals and provide the plenary with an election recommendation. It ensures that the eligibility requirements are known.

2. The parliamentary groups decide which candidates they want to invite for an interview. Generally, interviews are conducted for first-time elections of a person. Exceptionally, the parliamentary groups can also invite re-electable individuals for interviews. The parliamentary service coordinates the scheduling of the interviews in accordance with the office's guidelines.

1. Resignations must be submitted in writing to the appointing authority and to the parliamentary service. The parliamentary service promptly forwards the resignation letter to the office and, in the case of judicial elections, to the committee for justice.

1. The authority that advertises a position or function to be filled by election of the Grand Council shall submit the advertisement to the office no later than simultaneously with its publication.

2. If the vacancy is exceptionally not publicly advertised, the office must be informed in advance of the reasons for this and the required profile of requirements.

3. In the case of vacancies on the Board of Education and the Board of Trustees, the office generally waives a public advertisement.

1. The Commission for Justice prepares by-elections for judicial authorities in accordance with its regulations on judicial elections for the office and submits a report with a proposal and nomination or nominations.

2. If the by-election is requested by the Government Council or, in the case of the Educational Council, by the cantonal conference, it submits a report and proposal along with a nomination or nominations to the office.

3. For the by-election of members of the Board of Trustees and other members of the Educational Council, the office invites the parliamentary groups to submit nominations within a specified period. The Board of Trustees is also entitled to present nominations for trustee members to the office.

4. The office reviews the nominations of the applicants. It may request further information from the applicants.

1. After the conclusion of the election preparation procedure, the office forwards the election proposals (including resumes) to the Grand Council. It may comment on the election proposals and provide an election recommendation to the plenary assembly. It ensures that the eligibility requirements are known.

2. The parliamentary groups decide which candidates they wish to invite for an interview. The parliamentary service coordinates the timing of the interviews according to the office's guidelines.

1. The Office of the Grand Council sets the election date or dates. The council members are informed about the elections and the election proposals no later than with the invitation to the relevant session.

1. The office can request the plenary council to conduct silent elections if the conditions according to § 62a GO are met. If, however, a council member demands elections with ballots, the elections are generally to be conducted on the same meeting day. The council presidium assigns the parliamentary service with the immediate preparation and appoints an election office. The president of the council announces the members of the election office to the council members.

1. The office may decide to have pre-printed ballots prepared if there are no opposing candidates. The pre-printed names can be manually amended by the members of the council. If all candidates have been crossed out, the ballot is considered to have been submitted empty.

2. In general renewal elections, ballots are typically prepared in the form of pre-printed lists. For incumbents, the designation "incumbent" is added next to the name, and for new candidates, the designation "new" is added.

3. A ballot is valid if the eligibility requirements according to statutory requirements and the formal prerequisites are met. Ballots with lists are valid if at least one line is correctly filled out.

4. The number of empty and invalid ballots is to be determined and will be communicated to the council along with the number of ballots received.

1. The Council Presidency ensures a balanced composition of the election office, whereby each parliamentary group must generally be represented by one member. The presidency is assigned alternately among the parliamentary groups.

2. For each member of the election office, a substitute member is designated in case of inability to attend.

3. The President of the election office prepares an election protocol, which must be signed by all members of the election office.

4. The members of the election office do not announce the results before the President of the Council does.

5. The Parliamentary Service manages the secretariat of the election office.

1. Before the voting rounds are conducted, the President of the Council shall, if necessary, grant the floor to spokespersons of the parliamentary groups as well as to individual voters for their statements.

2. Any additional candidacies must be announced no later than before the second voting round is conducted.

3. If there are no opposing candidacies for the second voting round, the requirement for an absolute majority applies according to § 40a para. 4 GVG, even if additional individuals receive votes.

1. The parliamentary service personally distributes the ballot papers to each member of the council at their seat. The president of the council allows the council members sufficient time to fill out the ballot papers and subsequently instructs the collection of the ballot papers. The ballot papers may only be placed into the ballot box by the council member personally.

2. The council usher personally hands over the ballot boxes to the president of the election office. If the counting does not occur immediately, the ballot boxes remain under supervision in the council chamber or are kept secured under supervision by the parliamentary service.

1. As a rule, the second round of voting takes place following the announcement of the results of the first round during the course of the same session day.

2. The council may decide, at the request of the bureau or at the request of the council plenary, to postpone the second round of voting to a later date for important reasons.

1. These guidelines shall take effect starting May 1, 2018. They are to be brought to the attention of the Grand Council and published in the Aargau Legal Collection.

2. The guidelines may be amended by the Office of the Grand Council. The Grand Council is to be informed of any amendments.