1. État, peuple, Authorities » 16. Political Rights

1 This ordinance lays down the rules for the implementation of the law on political rights.

2 The implementing provisions concerning the electoral register and municipal elections remain reserved.

Terms designating persons apply equally to women and men.

Must be registered as voters, in accordance with the federal and cantonal provisions in the matter

1. In federal matters

- Swiss nationals aged eighteen who have their political domicile in the Canton;

- Swiss nationals domiciled abroad, aged eighteen, if they request it from their commune of origin or previous domicile;

- Travellers of Swiss nationality if they request it in their commune of origin.

2. In cantonal matters

- Swiss nationals aged eighteen who have had their political domicile in the Canton for 30 days;

- Swiss nationals domiciled abroad, aged eighteen, if they request it from their commune of origin or previous domicile;

- Travellers of Swiss nationality if they request it in their commune of origin;

- Foreigners aged eighteen and domiciled in Switzerland for ten years and in the Canton for one year, except in constitutional matters.

3. In communal matters

- Swiss nationals aged eighteen who have had their domicile in the commune for 30 days;

- Foreigners aged eighteen and domiciled in Switzerland for ten years, in the Canton for one year, and in the commune for 30 days.

Each municipality maintains a register of voters. The related provisions are set forth in a special ordinance.

1 Before each election, the competent authority summons the voters through a notice published in the Official Journal.

2 If deemed necessary, the State Chancellery provides instructions to the municipal administrations and electoral offices on the manner of proceeding.

**1 The State Chancellery prints the voter cards for the Confederation and Canton elections, as well as the official ballots for the Canton elections. It distributes them in a timely manner to the municipalities.**

2 The municipalities order, at their own expense, the transmission envelopes and the voting envelopes approved by the State Chancellery.

3 The municipal council prints the voter cards and the official ballots for the municipal elections and procures the transmission envelopes and voting envelopes.

4 Voters receive distinct and differently colored voter cards for federal, cantonal, and municipal elections.

5 In the event of an election, the signatories of the lists or nomination papers may obtain ballots exclusively from the printers of the official ballots. The cost of these additional ballots is borne by the individuals or organizations that ordered them.

1 The officer in charge of maintaining the electoral register is responsible for providing voting materials. These materials are sent to the voters in envelopes approved by the State Chancellery, which are reused for mail-in voting by voters who wish to vote in this manner.

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3 For travelers, the voting materials are sent to the address provided by the voter at the time of their registration request in the electoral register.

4 A duplicate of the voter card can be obtained no later than forty-eight hours before the opening of the polls. The new issued card must be marked "duplicate." At the opening of the polls, the municipal administration informs the electoral office of the names of the persons who have obtained a duplicate.

5 A voter who has lost or inadvertently destroyed their mail-in voting envelope can request a new one from the municipal administration.

1 The voter who changes their municipality of residence within the Canton, between the dispatch of voting materials and the closing of the electoral register, votes in the municipality of departure.

2 The municipality of arrival does not issue them voting materials.

1 In principle, each municipality constitutes an electoral bureau.

2 The municipal council appoints the members of the electoral bureau, including a president and a secretary.

3 If several municipalities are combined to form a single constituency, the electoral bureau is appointed by the council of the municipality designated as the seat of the constituency, but all the municipalities forming the constituency are represented by at least one member.

4 The members of the electoral bureau receive compensation. The municipality sets the amount and bears the cost.

5 The municipal secretary, or a municipal employee designated for this purpose by the municipal council, attends the counting operations from the close of the poll. They may be a member of the electoral bureau.

6 During elections, political forces are equitably represented in each electoral bureau.

1 Voting premises must be open on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

2 The municipal council may also set the opening as early as Friday.

3 The ballot closes on Sunday at 12 p.m.

1 The polling station is located in a public building or one that is easily accessible to the public.

2 It cannot be established in an inn.

3 When there are multiple polling stations within a constituency, the chairperson of the general electoral office supervises the voting at the main location. For each polling station, a member of the electoral office is tasked with overseeing operations.

4 If several municipalities are combined to form a single constituency, the principal municipality provides the polling station.

1 The municipal council shall ensure that the polling stations are equipped with all the necessary materials for the elections. The following are essential

- a voting booth to allow the voter to keep their vote secret;

- two ballot boxes, one intended to receive the voter cards and the other the ballots;

- a table on which the election office can place and stamp the ballots.

2 The municipal council may order the provision of specific ballot boxes for the various voter cards and different ballots. Similarly, if a cantonal or communal election involves several subjects, the council may order the provision of specific ballot boxes for each of them.

3 The ballot boxes shall be provided with a clear and prominently visible indication for each election.

1 The municipal council ensures that the ballots, as well as the necessary number of copies of legal provisions regarding elections, are available to the electoral office in the polling stations, along with the minutes forms and the materials needed for writing and for packaging and sealing the bundles of ballots and cards.

2 If deemed appropriate, it is permissible for the council to convene the members of the electoral office before election day to provide them with the necessary instructions.

1 The members of the electoral office meet half an hour before the start of operations in the voting location to which they are assigned.

2 The president, or the member acting in that capacity in auxiliary voting locations, informs them of the provisions of section 4 of this ordinance and organizes their duties.

The electoral office and its sections may be divided into groups for the management and supervision of operations. However, it is necessary that throughout the duration of these operations, at least two of its members, in the case of a referendum, and three in the case of an election, are continuously present in the voting premises.

1 The electoral office confirms that the ballot boxes are empty and affixes the seals.

2 The same ballot boxes are used throughout the entire voting period. They remain sealed and are kept in a secure location. On the second and third days of voting, they are only reinstalled in the voting area immediately before the start of the voting process, with the electoral office not being permitted to access their contents.

1 The electoral office provides information to citizens, upon their request, on how to vote.

2 It refrains from any influence on the voters' choice.

1 A member of the electoral office receives the voters' cards and places them into the ballot box. They can ensure that the card indeed belongs to the person presenting it.

2 The electoral office may decide that the names listed on the cards will be read aloud.

3 The electoral office is obligated to allow any citizen presenting themselves with a card in their name to vote. If there are doubts about the citizen's eligibility, these must be recorded in the minutes.

4 A member of the electoral office stamps the ballots on their reverse side. They must strictly ensure that the citizen presents only one for each vote or election.

5 The voter then places their ballot into the ballot box. A member of the electoral office particularly monitors the ballot boxes intended to receive the ballots. They check to ensure that the voter does not place more ballots than allowed and ensure that these are deposited in the correct ballot box.

6 Members of the electoral office must in no way attempt to see what is written on the ballots.

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**1.** The voter wishing to vote by mail places the ballot in the voting envelope, which is then placed in the transmission envelope. The voting envelope must not bear any distinctive marks.

**2.** The voter affixes their signature on the voter card and, in the absence of a preprinted text, writes the postal routing number and the name of the locality where the municipal administration is located. The card is placed in the transmission envelope, ensuring that the address of the electoral office is visible in the window. The envelope is sealed, stamped according to current postal rates, and mailed.

**3.** The municipality may refuse envelopes that are unstamped or inadequately stamped if they arrive by mail.

**4.** The mail-in voting envelope must reach the municipal administration no later than the Friday preceding the election day, and before the opening of the election.

**5.** The voter may also place the envelope in the mailbox of the municipal administration. The municipal council sets the day and time for the last collection from the municipal administration mailbox, which must be before the first opening of the electoral office.

**6.** The voting envelope can also be directly handed over to the municipal administration before the election during the opening hours of the municipal office.

**7.** When several separate elections are held on different dates, the voter voting by mail must use a separate transmission envelope for each of those elections.

**8.** All voting envelopes received in accordance with this article by the municipal administration are deposited in a sealed ballot box. They are handed over to the electoral office at the opening of the election.

1 After the opening of the polls, the postal voting envelopes shall be processed by the electoral office according to the procedure defined in Article 23. However, the counting of postal votes cannot take place before the closure of the polls.

2 The processing of these envelopes may occur in the polling station or in another location, also equipped with ballot boxes and a table. The processing may take place

a) when the polling station is not occupied by any voters;

b) outside the polling station's opening hours, but no later than before starting the counting.

2bis In municipalities that only open their electoral office on Sunday, the processing of postal voting envelopes may begin two hours before the opening of the polls, but after the last collection from the mailbox of the municipal administration.

3 In all cases, the location chosen for the processing of ballots in envelopes must be accessible to the public.

1 The electoral office member responsible for checking the voter cards opens the transmission envelope, removes the voter card(s), and verifies the signature has been affixed. If there are two or three types of elections (federal, cantonal, or communal), they check the box on the voting envelope, in the designated area, corresponding to the voter card(s) removed from the transmission envelope. They place the voter card(s) in the ballot box and pass the sealed voting envelope to the electoral office member responsible for stamping the ballots.

2 The electoral office member responsible for stamping the ballots opens the voting envelope and removes the ballot(s). If there are several types of elections, they only stamp the ballots corresponding to the voting rights checked on the voting envelope; the others are destroyed immediately.

3 The electoral office member responsible for supervising the ballot boxes places the stamped ballots in the corresponding ballot boxes.

4 At no time should the name of the voter who voted by mail be communicated to the electoral office members responsible for stamping and placing the ballots in the ballot box.

5 At no time should the content of the ballot be communicated by the members of the electoral office responsible for handling the ballots to the other members of the electoral office.

1 Postal voting is void if

a) the voter did not use the postal voting envelope;

b) the legitimacy card does not bear the voter's handwritten signature;

c) the envelope reaches the municipality after the set deadline;

d) the transmission envelope contains legitimacy cards related to elections taking place on different dates.

2 Votes are not taken into consideration and are immediately destroyed if

a) the transmission envelope contains more than one legitimacy card for the same election;

b) the transmission envelope contains more than one voting envelope;

c) the ballots were not placed inside the voting envelope;

d) the voting envelope contains more than one ballot for the same vote or election;

e) the voting envelope contains the legitimacy card.

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4 Envelopes that arrive after the set deadline are kept sealed. The municipality retains them until the expiration of the appeals period.

5 The grounds for nullity of the ballots enumerated in Article 21 of the Law on Political Rights are reserved.

The electoral office suspends operations at the precise time set and declares the voting closed. Voting is prohibited once this closure is announced.

**1 Counting of the Ballots is Public**

The counting of the ballots is public. It cannot begin before the close of polling. It takes place at the main polling location. In large electoral districts, it is permitted to conduct the counting elsewhere, but the municipal council must then, before the polling day, designate a location for this purpose and notify the public.

**2 Transport of Ballot Boxes**

If there are multiple polling locations within the district, the ballot boxes from the auxiliary locations are transported, unopened and accompanied by two members of the electoral office, to the main location, where they are then unsealed and their contents mixed with those of the boxes from this location before the counting can begin.

**3 Cooperation at the Main Polling Location**

The counting at the main polling location must be conducted with the cooperation of at least one member of the electoral office from each auxiliary location.

1 At the beginning of the ballot counting, the president of the electoral bureau shall inform the electoral bureau members of the provisions of section 5 of this ordinance and explain them if necessary.

2 For the verification and counting of the cards and ballots, the electoral bureau may divide into sections, provided that the same task is always performed by at least two members.

1 Voter cards are first removed from the ballot box and counted.

2 Subsequently, the number of mail-in voting envelopes is counted.

1 The ballot box is then emptied.

2 If only one ballot box has been used for different items, the various types of ballots are first sorted.

3 The counting is conducted in the following order: federal elections or votes, cantonal elections or votes, communal elections or votes. The possibility remains to conduct the counting by separate groups of the electoral office, provided that its members are sufficiently numerous and that the counting of the federal and cantonal ballots is not compromised.

1 We begin by ensuring that all ballots or groups of ballots are stamped. Those that are not are immediately destroyed.

2 Next, the total number of ballots is determined.

3 The electoral office ensures that the number of stamped ballots removed from the ballot box does not exceed the number of voter cards.

4 The ballots are divided into four groups; the first includes valid ballots, the second blank ballots, the third null or questionable ballots, and the fourth, during elections, ballots that, without being null, must still undergo cancellations.

5 The electoral office has the ultimate authority to decide on the validity of questionable ballots. On the ballots in the fourth group, it proceeds with cancellations, which must be made recognizable as such with a red pen. The electoral office is prohibited from modifying or completing what is written on the ballots.

1 The operations of any voting and any election are documented in a record, which is prepared in two copies. For federal and cantonal votes, it is drawn up using the official form provided by the State Chancellery.

2 This record states

a) the number of registered voters;

b) the number of returned voter cards;

c) the number of voters who voted by correspondence;

d) the number of returned ballots;

e) the number of blank ballots;

f) the number of void ballots;

g) the number of valid ballots and the number of invalid ballots, the latter corresponding to the sum of blank and void ballots;

h) in the case of referenda, the number of those accepting and those rejecting;

i) in the case of elections, the names of all candidates who received votes and the number of votes they received;

j) in elections according to the proportional representation system, additionally

- the number of non-nominative votes assigned to each list (complementary votes);

- the number of votes for each list (nominative and complementary votes);

- the number of unused votes.

3 The record is signed on behalf of the electoral office by the president and the secretary.

4 Members of the electoral office who have remarks to make concerning the conduct of the vote or the content of the record may have them recorded at the bottom of the document.

As soon as the counting is completed and the minutes are filled out, the electoral office shall communicate the results of the federal and cantonal ballots to the State Chancellery electronically or according to the instructions of the latter.

Upon communication of the results, one copy of the minutes is sent to the State Chancellery, for federal and cantonal ballots, and to the Municipal Services for communal ballots, with any annexes if applicable. The other copy is handed over to the municipal secretary.

1 The ballots are gathered for each vote into separate packages, which are sealed. They are sent immediately after the counting is completed to the State Chancellery for federal and cantonal votes and kept securely at the municipality for municipal votes.

2 The ballots must be sent separately from the official report.

The voter cards are sealed and handed over to the officer responsible for maintaining the electoral register.

1 The voting materials that are sealed, namely the ballots and voter cards, are retained

a) until the expiration of the unused appeal period;

b) until the final judgment of an appeal against the election;

c) for federal matters, until the validation of the election by the Confederation.

2 After the retention period, the voting materials are destroyed.

3 A copy of the minutes of federal, cantonal, and communal elections is kept in the archives of the municipality; the second copy is retained

a) by the Confederation for federal elections;

b) by the State Chancellery for cantonal elections;

c) by the Department of Municipalities for communal elections.

1 For cantonal ballots, the electoral lists are published by the State Chancellery in the Official Journal, with their designation and order number.

2 The same applies to candidacy documents, corrections, and supplements.

3 The signatures appearing on the electoral lists and candidacy documents must be verified and endorsed by the competent municipal administrations before being submitted to the State Chancellery. Requests for verification with the municipal administrations are the responsibility of the representatives of the lists and candidacy documents.

1 If the sixtieth day of the referendum period falls on a Sunday or a public holiday, the period shall be extended until the next working day.

2 The period is considered to be observed if the lists of signatures or the requests from the municipalities are submitted to the State Chancellery on that day before 6 p.m.

Are repealed

- the ordinance implementing the law on political rights dated 9 November 1978;

- the ordinance of 11 February 1986 concerning the right to vote of foreigners;

- the ordinance of 9 November 1978 concerning the duties that municipal councils and electoral offices are to fulfill in popular votes and elections.

The Ordinance of February 11, 1986 concerning the Voter Register is amended as follows

Article 9a

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This ordinance comes into force on May 1, 1999.