Act on Political Rights in the Canton (Elections and Referendums Act, WAG) - Right to Vote and Stand for Election (WAG)

1. Eligible to vote and participate in elections is anyone who possesses active citizenship rights according to the cantonal constitution and is registered in the electoral register.

2. Excluded from the right to vote and participate in elections is anyone who, due to permanent incapacity to make judgments

1. is under comprehensive guardianship; or

2. is represented by a person with power of attorney for precautionary measures.

1. Eligible voters are to be entered into the electoral register at their place of residence.

2. Entries into the electoral register are permissible no later than five days before the polling day.

3. The electoral register shall be available at the municipal office from the time the voting materials are dispatched until the Friday following the polling day; it can be inspected by any eligible voter.

1. The eligible voters exercise their voting and election rights in the political municipalities.

They can cast their vote personally at the ballot box or by mail.

1. The deadline is met if the submission arrives at the cantonal voting office by 12:00 PM on the last day of the deadline.

2. The day of publication is not included in the calculation of deadlines.

3. If the last day of the deadline falls on a Saturday, a public holiday according to the Public Holidays Act, or a non-working day as per paragraph 4, it ends on the next working day.

4. Non-working days are considered to be: Berchtold's Day, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, and St. Stephen's Day.

1. No fees may be charged for official acts in connection with elections and voting.

2. However, in the case of frivolous or vexatious complaints, the Constitutional Court may impose fees and costs and may also award the prevailing party compensation for legal costs.

1. The municipalities bear the costs of maintaining the voter register and distributing voting materials, as well as those of the municipal voting office; the other costs of cantonal votes are borne by the canton.

1. The statutory regulation of joint ownership and use of corporate assets shall be governed mutatis mutandis by the provisions concerning voting.

2. Regarding the right to propose and counterpropose, the following exceptions shall apply

1. Those eligible to vote are individuals who hold active citizenship rights and corporate citizenship rights in the canton;

2. The right to propose and counterpropose is granted to the individuals eligible to vote as per item 1, the Landrat, and the corporate councillors.

1. Proposals and counterproposals must contain nothing that contradicts federal law or, unless they demand a constitutional revision, the cantonal constitution.

2. They must adhere to the principles of unity of form and subject matter and must not be impracticable.

3. A counterproposal may not expand the areas affected by the proposal.

1. Proposals can be submitted either as a general suggestion or, if they do not demand a complete revision of the cantonal constitution, as a drafted proposal.

2. The counterproposal must be submitted in the same form as the proposal.

1. Applications and Counterproposals must

1. be clearly drafted;

2. include a justification, the title, and the text of the document;

3. be provided with the date and the signature of the initial signatories.

2. Applications and Counterproposals from the Cantonal Council must be clearly drafted and contain both the title and the text of the document; they are to be published immediately in the Official Gazette.

3. The title must include the type of application, the type of enactment, and objectively describe the subject matter of the application.

4. If the title is misleading or contains promotional additions, it will be amended by the State Chancellery.

5. If multiple counterproposals are submitted, the title will be supplemented by the State Chancellery with a note.

6. If a signature collection is necessary, the provisions of Art. 25-32 additionally apply.

1. Motions and counterproposals may be withdrawn by the authorized representatives with a two-thirds majority up to the time of the publication of the voting order; the governing council must provide the authorized representatives with the opportunity to declare the withdrawal within ten days prior to publication.

2. The governing council shall determine whether the motion or the counterproposal has been validly withdrawn.

1. Applications and counter-proposals may not be altered by addition or omission after their publication.

2. The State Chancellery may correct evident clerical errors.

1. Applications are to be submitted or deposited with the State Chancellery.

2. The State Chancellery shall publish the title and the text in the Official Gazette.

3. For applications made by eligible voters, the certified signatures must be submitted within 60 days of the deposit with the State Chancellery.

1. Counterproposals by eligible voters must be submitted to the State Chancellery no later than 60 days after the publication of the County Council's proposals.

2. The State Chancellery must promptly publish the title and the text in the official gazette.

3. The certified signatures must be submitted within 60 days following the submission of the documents in accordance with Article 10, paragraph 1, numbers 2 and 3.

1. The date of deposit is deemed to be the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

1. Motions subject to voting and counterproposals shall be submitted to the eligible voters within one year from the date of filing.

2. For counterproposals, the period specified in Paragraph 1 begins after the determination of admissibility pursuant to Article 17.

3. The time limits are suspended during the duration of appeal proceedings.

1. The district administrator is to decide on the admissibility of the proposals or counter-proposals upon the request of the government council.

1. The mandatory referendum is subject to the enactments and decisions mentioned in Art. 52 of the Cantonal Constitution.

2. Expenditures in the sense of Art. 52 No. 4 of the Cantonal Constitution also include participations, loans, guarantees, declarations of guarantee, and similar obligations of the Canton that are not part of the financial assets.

1. The optional referendum applies to the enactments and resolutions mentioned in Art. 52a of the Cantonal Constitution.

1. An enactment or decision subject to the optional referendum shall be published as a referendum proposal in the Official Gazette.

2. The publication must specify the day on which the referendum deadline expires, subject to Article 21; in the case of enactments, the day on which the deadline for submitting a counter-proposal expires must also be indicated.

1. The district council may order a vote to be conducted immediately after the final vote on a matter pursuant to Article 52a of the cantonal constitution.

1. Matters of business pursuant to Article 52a of the Cantonal Constitution must be submitted to a vote if requested by 250 eligible voters within 60 days from the publication of the matter.

2. The collection of signatures is only permitted after publication.

1. If a counterproposal is submitted by 250 eligible voters in accordance with Article 54a paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Cantonal Constitution, a vote must be carried out; Article 11 remains reserved.

1. Orders or resolutions come into force on the day of adoption by the active citizenry or after the unused expiration of the referendum period; subject to the enactment on a specific date. The government council may be authorized to determine the effective date.

2. The government council determines whether a referendum order or referendum resolution has become legally valid; it publishes this determination in the official gazette.

1. Applications, Counterproposals, or Referendum Requests must be submitted on sheets which must contain the following information

1. The name of the Political Municipality;

2. For applications and counterproposals: the title of the request and the date of publication in the Official Gazette;

3. For referendum requests: the title of the subject matter and the date of publication in the Official Gazette;

4. * The notice: "According to Article 282 of the Swiss Criminal Code, anyone who unlawfully participates in an initiative or referendum request or falsifies the result of a signature collection for the exercise of the initiative or the referendum, especially by adding, altering, omitting, or striking out signatures, will be punished."

2. In the case of applications and counterproposals, the designation of authorized representatives for withdrawal is also required.

1. The eligible voter must write their last name and first name by hand in a legible manner on the signature list and additionally provide their own handwritten signature.

2. The eligible voter must provide all additional information necessary to establish their identity, such as date of birth and address.

3. Voters who are unable to write may have their name and all further information entered by an eligible voter of their choice. This person will add their own signature to the name of the person unable to write and will keep the instructions received confidential.

1. A person entitled to vote may sign the request only once.

2. They may sign only on a sheet that bears the designation of their municipality of residence.

3. No request may be signed before the submission of an application or a counter-proposal.

1. Prior to their submission, the signature sheets must be submitted to the residents' registration office of the competent municipality for certification.

2. The office certifies on the sheet the voting rights of the signatories who are entitled to vote at the time of certification and returns the sheets within three days.

1. The voting right of the signatories may only be certified if the form and the signatures meet the requirements of Articles 25-27.

1. The State Chancellery records the time of submission as well as the names of the individuals who deliver the documents.

1. The State Chancellery rectifies defects in the certificate that cannot be attributed to the signatories through the resident control of the competent municipality.

1. The Government Council shall exclude as invalid

1. the signatures of signatories whose voting rights are not certified;

2. the signatures of signatories whose voting rights have been incorrectly certified;

3. the signatures on sheets that have been submitted late;

4. the excess signatures of individuals who have signed a petition more than once.

2. The reason for the invalidity shall be noted on the signature sheet.

3. After excluding the invalid signatures, the Government Council shall decide whether the petition has been successful; this decision shall be published in the official gazette.

1. The Municipal Council Elects

1. an electoral office of at least three members for the main polling station;

2. an electoral office of at least two members for each subsidiary polling station.

2. The municipal electoral office is composed of the electoral office of the main polling station and at least one member designated by the Municipal Council from the electoral offices of any subsidiary polling stations.

3. The Municipal Council appoints the President and the Vice President of the municipal electoral office.

1. The cantonal voting office consists of three members who are elected by the government council; the clerk of the government council serves as the chair of the voting office ex officio.

1. The Executive Council exercises supervision over the conduct of cantonal elections and referendums.

1. The government council makes the necessary arrangements for a vote; it publishes these in the official gazette.

1. The following provisions apply to the election of the authorities' members

1. the members of the Cantonal Council: Art. 53-58;

2. the members of the Government Council: Art. 59-73;

3. the delegation to the Council of States: Art. 74-76;

4. * ...

2. The Government Council determines the deadlines for submitting electoral proposals, the public inspection, and any objections to the electoral proposals; this decision is to be published in the Official Gazette.

1. The government council shall set the voting or election day.

2. The government council shall formulate the ballot question; the question must be clearly and objectively formulated, and must not be misleading or suggestive.

3. The vote shall be conducted simultaneously in all municipalities.

4. The matters and timing of the vote must be published in the official journal at least four weeks in advance; for elections, this period shall be at least ten weeks.

1. The Government Council stipulates the voting hours of the ballots in the main and auxiliary polling stations in its directives.

1. Each eligible voter shall receive a voting certificate containing the information necessary for identification.

1. Earliest four and latest three weeks before the voting day, the following voting materials must be delivered to the eligible voters by the municipality

1. * the voting rights certificate;

2. the voting envelope;

3. the ballot paper or the election ticket;

4. for enactments and substantive matters: the wording of the proposal, the justification by the applicant, and any potential statement by the government council;

5. * ...

2. Justification and statement must be brief and factual.

3. In elections, individuals exercising the right to propose are entitled to include an election brochure; the cantonal voting office issues binding guidelines on the form and scope of the election brochure.

4. Voting proposal, justification, and statement or the election documents may only be delivered once per household, unless a household member requests personal delivery.

**1. In a vote on a proposal and a counter-proposal, the voting individual is presented with the following three questions on the same ballot:**

1. whether they prefer the proposal to the existing law;

2. whether they prefer the counter-proposal to the existing law;

3. which of the two proposals should come into effect if both the proposal and the counter-proposal are accepted.

**2. All three questions can be answered independently of one another; the majority is determined separately, disregarding unanswered questions and blank ballots.**

**3. If both the proposal and the counter-proposal are accepted, the result of the third question decides; in the event of a tie, the greater affirmative surplus from the first two questions determines which proposal comes into effect.**

1. In a vote on a proposal and several counterproposals, the eligible voter is presented with the following main questions on the same ballot

1. whether they prefer the proposal to the current law;

2. whether they prefer counterproposal A, B, etc., to the current law.

2. The eligible voter must also indicate by means of a ranking which proposal should come into effect if multiple proposals are accepted (additional questions). Each rank may only be assigned once, otherwise, the answering of the additional questions is invalid.

1. All main questions can be answered independently; the majority is determined separately, with unanswered questions and blank ballots being disregarded.

1. The municipal voting office must implement the ranking in such a way that it reflects which proposal the eligible voter prefers over the other. The proposal preferred in each case receives one vote.

2. Only valid rankings are considered for determining the majority of the additional questions. If one of the additional questions is unanswered due to the ranking, it is considered an abstention.

3. If multiple proposals are approved based on the evaluation of the main questions, the result of the additional questions will decide; in case of the same number of victories, the higher surplus of Yes votes from the corresponding main questions will determine which proposal comes into force.

1. For the procedure regarding consultative referendums, the provisions concerning the right to submit motions shall apply mutatis mutandis.

1. If the voting person is presented with two options in the same matter as part of a consultative vote, the following three questions must be posed to them on the same ballot

1. whether they prefer the first option over the current law;

2. whether they prefer the second option over the current law;

3. which option they prefer if both the first and second options receive more yes votes than no votes.

2. All three questions can be answered independently of one another; the majority is determined separately, disregarding unanswered questions and blank ballots.

3. If both the first and second options are accepted, the result of the third question will decide.

1. Ballots or voting slips must be filled out by hand.

1. Ballots or voting slips are invalid if

1. they are not official;

2. they are filled out in a manner other than handwritten;

3. more candidates are marked than there are available seats;

4. they do not clearly express the intention of the person exercising their voting rights;

5. they contain defamatory statements, remarks, or obvious markings.

2. If a return envelope or voting envelope for the same election contains multiple ballots, all are invalid. They are collectively counted as one invalid vote.

3. The reason for invalidity must be noted on the invalidated ballots.

1. Blank and invalid ballots are disregarded in the determination of the voting result.

2. A proposal is accepted if more votes are cast in favor than against.

3. In the event of a tie, the proposal is rejected.

4. For the determination of the result of the vote on an application and one or more counterproposals, Article 41 paragraphs 2 and 3, as well as Articles 43 and 44, are applicable.

1. The election result for the members of the Cantonal Council shall be determined according to the provisions on the proportional representation of the Cantonal Council and those for the elections to the Government Council in accordance with Articles 71-73.

2. The election result for the delegation to the Council of States is to be determined mutatis mutandis according to Articles 71-73.

1. A record of the voting results shall be prepared, which must be signed by all members of the municipal or cantonal voting office.

2. The voting record must include

1. the number of eligible voters registered in the electoral register;

2. the number of submitted voting certificates;

3. the number of blank, invalid, and valid ballot papers;

4. * in the case of proposals, the number of Yes and No votes, as well as the results of additional questions in votes with counterproposals;

5. in elections: the number of valid votes received by each individual candidate, with the order determined by the number of votes;

6. the result of any possible casting vote.

1. The cantonal voting office announces the voting result immediately after the counting is completed, subject to validation.

2. The government council establishes the voting result as binding after the expiration of the appeal period (validation).

3. The validation resolution is to be published in the official gazette.

1. The Division of Electoral Districts is Governed by Article 58 of the Cantonal Constitution.

1. For the allocation of seats to the electoral districts, the cantonal population statistics (persons with Swiss citizenship as well as foreign nationals with permanent residence and annual residence permits) as of December 31 of the second calendar year preceding the election shall be decisive.

1. The electoral quotient is determined by dividing the number of canton inhabitants by the number of mandates, which is 60, and rounding the result up to the next whole number.

1. Each electoral district initially receives as many seats as the electoral quota is contained in the number of residents of the electoral district.

2. The seats not allocated in this manner are awarded to the electoral districts with the largest remainders; in the case of equal remainders, the allocation of the respective remaining mandate is decided by a draw conducted by the Landammann.

3. Each electoral district is entitled to at least two seats; electoral districts that would otherwise not receive at least two seats are awarded the last remaining mandates.

4. In the calendar year preceding the election, the Government Council determines by resolution how many members of the Landrat are to be elected in each electoral district.

1. Provisions of the Agency Act shall apply to eligibility for election.

1. Elections shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Act on Proportional Representation of the District Council.

1. Elections for the Executive Council are to be conducted simultaneously with the elections for the Cantonal Council.

2. By-elections may be held at any time.

1. A nomination proposal must be signed by at least five active citizens, indicating their own names, first names, year of birth, and residential addresses.

2. Each active citizen may co-sign only one nomination proposal per election; the signature cannot be withdrawn. The signature on additional nomination proposals is invalid.

3. The signatories must also designate a representative for the nomination proposal; if no explicit designation is made, the first signatory is considered the representative.

4. The representative is authorized to make legally binding declarations on behalf of the signatories to rectify deficiencies and to withdraw the nomination proposal after the first round of voting.

1. The election proposals may contain no more names of eligible persons than there are seats to be filled; candidates must be specified with their last name, first name, profession, year of birth, and residential address.

2. ...

1. Election proposals must be received by the cantonal voting office by 12:00 noon on the 48th day (7th Monday) before the election day.

2. Election proposals submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

3. Election proposals cannot be withdrawn after their publication.

1. Each proposed candidate must confirm in writing on the nomination paper that they accept a potential election.

2. Persons who are not subject to compulsory service will not be included on the ballot if confirmation is missing.

1. The cantonal voting office shall verify the eligibility of the applicants and the electability of the proposed individuals.

2. Nominations submitted by unauthorized persons shall be eliminated; the names of proposed individuals who are not eligible for election shall be struck off.

3. If a nomination contains more names than there are seats to be filled, the names of the excessively proposed individuals shall be struck off.

1. The election proposals shall be made publicly available for inspection at the State Chancellery after finalization and until the day of the vote.

1. The cantonal voting office shall prepare the ballot with the pre-printed candidacies immediately after the finalization of the election proposals.

2. In the case of renewal elections, if current members are proposed, they must be placed at the top of the ballot in order of their seniority. Otherwise, the names of the proposed persons shall be listed in alphabetical order.

3. If the election proposal was submitted on behalf of a political interest group, the affiliation of the proposed person to this interest group must be indicated in parentheses; likewise, the designation "incumbent" must be added.

1. Only persons whose names are pre-printed on the ballot paper may be elected.

2. To cast a vote, the voter must personally mark the box next to the name of the candidate.

1. If the total number of proposed candidates does not exceed the number of seats to be filled, those candidates shall be declared elected by the governing council without a vote.

1. If no silent election takes place, the first ballot is to be conducted.

2. If not all seats are filled through a silent election, the first ballot is also to be conducted; in this case, the government council is to set an additional deadline for the submission of election proposals and, if necessary, to reschedule the voting day.

1. For the seats that were not filled in the first round of voting, a second round of voting shall be conducted no later than 6 weeks after the first round of voting; Article 68 remains reserved.

2. New nominations may be submitted until 12:00 noon on the Thursday following the conduct of the first round of voting; individuals who did not submit nominations for the first round of voting are not entitled to submit nominations for the second round.

3. If a newly proposed person is not subject to compulsory office, they must confirm in writing on the nomination that they accept the possible election.

4. The cantonal election office shall prepare the ballot for the second round of voting immediately after the nominations have been finalized; it must include all proposed persons who were not elected in the first round and whose nominations have not been withdrawn in writing by the representative of the nomination by 12:00 noon on the Thursday following the conduct of the first round of voting.

5. The ballot for the second round of voting must be delivered to the eligible voters along with the other voting materials no later than 5 days before the election day.

1. In determining the election results, blank and invalid ballots or votes are disregarded.

2. On valid ballots, votes cast for non-preprinted candidacies shall be struck off by the voting office.

1. In the first round of voting, the absolute majority is decisive. The number of valid votes cast is divided by twice the number of members to be elected to the authority. The next highest whole number is the absolute majority.

2. In the second round of voting, the relative majority is decisive; those proposed candidates with the highest number of votes are elected.

1. If more candidates achieve an absolute majority than there are positions to be filled, those with the higher number of votes are elected.

2. If two or more candidates receive the same number of votes, the decision is made by drawing lots, which must be conducted immediately by the chairperson of the cantonal voting office in the presence of the other members.

1. The term of office for the delegation to the Council of States is four years.

1. The term of office for the delegation to the Council of States corresponds to that of the National Council.

1. The election of the delegation to the Council of States takes place together with the National Council election.

2. By-elections can be held at any time.

3. Otherwise, the provisions of Articles 60-73 apply mutatis mutandis.

1. An appeal against first-instance decisions can be filed with the Government Council.

2. An administrative appeal can also be used to assert irregularities in elections and voting.

1. Appeals against decisions of the Council of State pursuant to Article 77 may be lodged with the Constitutional Court.

2. Appeals against decisions of the Council of State and the Cantonal Parliament regarding the exercise of political rights and the validity of elections and votes may be lodged with the Constitutional Court; exceptions to this are the decisions pursuant to Articles 21, 34, and 38 paragraph 1.

1. The appeal must be filed within 3 days after the decision has been served or published.

2. If an irregularity or a decision that has not been served or published is to be contested, the deadline begins at the time when the appellant has gained or should have gained knowledge of the irregularities or the decision.

1. Entitlement to File an Administrative or Constitutional Court Complaint

1. Any individual who has a legal or factual, legitimate interest in the annulment or amendment of an order or decision;

2. Political interest groups, if they are constituted as legal entities and are politically active in the canton.

1. Appeals have a suspensive effect.

2. Appeals do not have a suspensive effect

1. in elections;

2. if the appeal relates to a vote and the appeal was submitted before the voting day;

3. against orders and decisions pursuant to Art. 10 para. 4.

3. If suspensive effect is granted to an appeal in elections by the appeal body, the current officeholders retain their seats and voting rights until a final decision is reached.

1. Violations of the provisions of this law shall be punishable by a fine.

1. The District Administrator issues the regulations necessary for the enforcement of this law.

2. He particularly organizes the jurisdiction and procedure of the authorities.

1. The Law of April 26, 1981, on the Proportional Election of the District Council is amended as follows: ...

1. The Law of April 25, 1971, on Cantonal and Municipal Authorities (Authorities Law) is amended as follows: ...

1. The Act of April 28, 1968, on the Organization and Procedure of the Courts (Court Act) is amended as follows: ...

1. The current members of the Government Council shall remain in office until June 30, 1998.

2. The current Landammann and the current Landesstatthalter shall remain in office until June 30, 1997.

3. The current member of the Council of States shall remain in office until April 26, 1998.

1. Until the enactment of the Business Transaction Act for the District Council (District Council Act) and the Business Transaction Act for the Government Council (Government Council Act), the District Council Ordinance and the Government Council Ordinance shall remain in effect.

1. This law is subject to an optional referendum.

2. It shall be published in the official gazette and included in the collection of laws; this is subject to approval by the Federation.

3. The government council shall determine the effective date.

4. All provisions that conflict with it are repealed, particularly the Law of April 30, 1967, concerning the organization and procedure of the legislative and executive cantonal authorities (Organization Law), the Law of April 26, 1970, concerning the political rights of women in the municipalities, and the Law of April 30, 1972, concerning the political rights of women in the canton.