Ordinance on the Act on Political Rights (Vo GpR) - Announcement

1. The scheduling of cantonal referendums and elections must generally be published in the Official Gazette at least 12 weeks prior to the date of the referendum or election. Municipal referendums and elections must be announced in a timely and appropriate manner.

2. The announcement of the scheduling of elections must make reference to the deadlines for submitting electoral proposals in accordance with §§ 27a, 30, and 33 of the Act.

3. The State Chancellery issues a recommendation for the scheduling of periodic new elections for municipalities.

1. Municipalities may design the voting card as an envelope.

2. The voting card must be marked with the date of the voting or election day.

3. Eligible voters receive the following information and instructions in particular

a. * Opening hours of the polling station;

b. * Period for postal voting;

c. * Possibility of personal delivery, provided that proposals and explanations are delivered only once per household;

d. * Ballot papers must be enclosed in the provided ballot envelope to ensure voter secrecy and then placed in the return envelope.

1. The ballots may only contain a reference to Article 282bis of the Swiss Criminal Code (vote catching) alongside the voting question.

2. Ballot papers for proportional representation elections may contain no more than the following information about the candidates: first name, last name, year of birth, profession or occupation, place of residence, and where applicable, the addition "incumbent." The Federal Chancellery or municipal administration assigns each candidate an identification number.

1. Anyone who has not received the reply envelope, voting card, voting or election ballots, additional ballot envelope, the templates and explanations, or any possible information sheet, must request these documents from the municipal administration no later than the fifth day before the voting or election day.

1. The Electoral Register (List of Eligible Voters) must be maintained in every municipality.

2. The electoral register for eligible Swiss citizens residing abroad must be maintained electronically, along with data on the following attributes

a. Insurance number according to Art. 50c of the Federal Law of December 20, 1946, on Old-Age and Survivors’ Insurance (short: insurance number), if available;

b. Official name and other names recorded in civil status registers, if available;

c. All given names in the correct order;

d. Delivery address including postal code, city, and country;

e. Date and place of birth;

f. Places of origin;

g. * ...

1. In each polling station, at least one ballot box must be set up for the deposit of voting slips and ballots.

2. If the polling station is open on multiple days, the ballot boxes are to be sealed and stored at the close of each day’s polling hours such that no submission or removal of votes is possible.

3. The ballot boxes may only be opened immediately before the commencement of the counting of the results.

1. The mayor is responsible for ensuring that the members of the electoral office are summoned at least 8 days before the voting or election day.

2. If a municipality elects multiple electoral offices, a main electoral office must be designated, which is responsible for determining the results of votes and elections.

3. Personal voting must be supervised by at least 2 members of the electoral office.

1. In voting by mail, the eligible voter places the ballot papers in the enclosed ballot envelope and places it together with the signed voting certificate in the return envelope.

2. The return envelope must be submitted sealed to the municipal administration, deposited in its mailbox, or delivered at a post office. The return envelope must not be returned or altered afterwards.

1. The response envelopes may be opened no earlier than on the 2nd day before the voting or election day at 6:00 PM in the presence of at least 3 members of the election office. The voting certificates and the ballot paper envelopes containing the voting and election ballots must be separated and stacked separately before the voting and election ballots are unpacked.

2. Until the voting or election day, the following may be done

a. * The voting and election ballots can be checked for validity and marked accordingly;

b. * The voting and election ballots can be sorted by vote and election;

c. * The voting certificates as well as the empty and invalid voting and election ballots can be counted;

d. * In proportional representation systems, modified and unmodified valid election ballots per party can be sorted.

3. ...

4. The votes cast by mail must be securely and sealed kept until counting. Access to the votes cast by mail may only be made by the election office presidium in the presence of an election office member. Any access must be evident.

5. The counting of the valid votes cast by mail may not begin until the voting or election day.

6. Before the polling station closes on the voting or election day, no results or partial results may be announced.

1. If voters have placed multiple ballots in the ballot envelope for the same vote or election, one of them shall be marked and labeled as "invalid due to duplication." The remaining ballots shall be destroyed.

2. If there is another reason for invalidity, the ballots shall be marked accordingly.

1. The signature lists for cantonal initiatives and referenda must be submitted to the Federal Chancellery in their entirety, separated by municipalities. Subsequent submissions are not permitted.

1. Voters who sign an initiative or referendum on behalf of other voters unable to write must fully enter the latter's personal details into the signature list. In the section "personal signature," they must print their own first and last names in block letters, accompanied by the notation "on behalf of / o.b.," and add their own signature.

1. The authority responsible for certifying the voting eligibility of signatories of initiatives and referendums is the municipal administration.

2. Signatories must be registered in the voter register on the day the signature list is submitted for certification.

3. Each signature list (sheet, page, card) must indicate the number of valid and invalid signatures in words and figures.

4. The voting rights of signatories can be certified collectively for multiple lists.

1. The first signatory shall be deemed the representative of the initiative or referendum committee in the absence of further specification.

1. The signature lists shall be destroyed once the initiative or referendum has been definitively established as compliant with the legal requirements.

1. Following the publication regarding the preliminary examination of an initiative in the official gazette, the governing council shall, upon the proposal of the state chancery, determine the lead directorate for the potential handling of the initiative.

2. The lead directorate is responsible for timely submission of all motions for the handling of the initiative. It has, in particular, the following tasks

a. It commissions the legal service of the governing council to clarify the legal validity of the initiative or submits a motion to the governing council to obtain an external expert opinion on this question after consulting the legal service of the governing council.

b. It prepares and submits to the governing council, for the attention of the cantonal council, the proposal concerning the legal validity of the initiative.

c. It prepares and submits to the governing council, for the attention of the cantonal council, the proposal regarding whether to approve or reject the initiative.

cbis. * It prepares and submits to the governing council, for the attention of the cantonal council, the proposal for implementing the unformulated initiative.

d. It prepares and submits to the governing council, for the attention of the cantonal council, as necessary, the proposal concerning the extension or interruption of the processing deadline (§ 78a para. 3 Law on Political Rights).

e. It obtains the written consent of the initiative committee before submitting a proposal in accordance with letter d to the governing council.

3. Immediately after the submission of an initiative, the governing council, upon the proposal of the state chancery, sets the deadlines for

a. the preparation of the proposal concerning legal validity, and

b. the preparation of the proposal regarding whether to approve or reject the initiative.

3bis. Immediately after the approval of the people or the cantonal council for an unformulated initiative, the governing council sets the deadline for the preparation of the proposal for its implementation.

4. The state chancery maintains supervision on behalf of the governing council over adherence to the established deadlines.

1. The designated directorates shall prepare for each voting item

a. * a summary ("Key Points") typically consisting of 1,500 characters including spaces, up to a maximum of 2,000 characters including spaces, according to the decision of the government council in individual cases. The summary contains factual information about the proposal and a presentation of opposing viewpoints;

b. * the detailed description of the voting item ("The Proposal in Detail") typically consisting of no more than 4,000 characters including spaces, as well as generally up to 1 page for graphics, visualizations, plans, tables, and lists. For complex proposals, the government council may increase the volume;

c. * the presentation of the government council's viewpoints ("Government Council's Statement") with a maximum of 4,000 characters including spaces.

2. The initiative and referendum committees typically have up to 4,000 characters including spaces available for presenting their viewpoints ("Initiative Committee's Statement" or "Referendum Committee's Statement"). For complex proposals, the government council may increase the volume. The committees are solely responsible for their texts, which may not be altered in substance.

3. The government council shall set the initiative or referendum committees a deadline of at least 14 days to submit their texts to the state chancery. If no texts are submitted within this period, the committees tacitly waive their right to present their viewpoints.

1. Election proposals must be received by the state chancery for cantonal elections and by the municipal administration for communal elections by 12:00 noon on the cutoff date.

1. The official information sheet prepared by the State Chancellery pursuant to § 27a of the Act includes

a. * First name, last name, year of birth, profession or occupation, place of residence;

b. * a note on the group of eligible persons;

c. * if applicable, the addition "incumbent," the party of the candidates, and the designation of the electoral proposal.

2. The candidates are listed in alphabetical order by name.

1. In proportional representation elections, the numbering of electoral lists is determined according to the agreement of the participating parties.

2. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the numbering for cantonal and municipal elections is conducted by the state chancellery. In doing so, the same numbers should be allocated to the same parties whenever possible.

1. The results of cantonal and federal referenda and elections are determined by the Federal Chancellery based on the records of municipal election offices and published in the cantonal official gazette. Election results may only be publicly announced once the last polls have closed.

2. The Federal Chancellery reports to the certifying authority in writing regarding its findings on the accuracy of the municipal records and any potential complaints.

1. The elected individuals shall be issued a certificate of election by the certification authority.

1. The State Chancellery issues directives on the procedure for determining the results of elections and referenda.

1. Municipalities are authorized to use counting machines (similar to banknote counters) or precision scales to determine results.

1. The protocols must include for each vote or election

a. the number of eligible voters in the municipality;

b. the number of submitted voting certificates;

c. the number of submitted ballot papers;

d. the number of blank ballot papers;

e. the number of invalid ballot papers;

f. the number of valid ballot papers;

g. the number of blank, invalid, and valid votes;

h. for votes, the number of 'Yes' and 'No' votes as well as blank votes;

i. for elections, the number of votes for the nominees as well as for other eligible candidates.

2. For cantonal and federal votes and elections, the State Chancellery provides protocol forms to the municipalities.

3. For municipal votes and elections, the municipalities themselves must provide the protocol forms.

4. The protocols must be signed by the president and 2 members of the electoral office. If a municipality has appointed several electoral offices, the main electoral office is responsible for the signing.

5. The protocols must be prepared in duplicate and either delivered or stored according to the instructions of the State Chancellery.

1. The Government Council Ordinance of May 4, 1982, concerning the Law on Political Rights is repealed.

1. This regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1992.