Implementing Ordinance to the Act on the Exercise of Political Rights (Voting Ordinance, AV) (Abstimmungsverordnung, AV) - General and Special Electoral Register (OV)

**1. The Municipal Authority Maintains a General Electoral Register**

1. The municipal authority maintains a general electoral register, in which all residents eligible to vote in federal or cantonal matters are recorded.

2. There must be a clear distinction between those eligible to vote in federal and cantonal matters within the general electoral register.

3. The general electoral register serves as a basis for other public-law bodies of the municipality in maintaining their specific electoral registers.

4. The electoral register officer examines who, according to the constitution and law, is eligible to vote and should be entered in the electoral register, and ensures that it is kept up to date.

5. For copies of the general electoral register and additional information, the municipal authorities may charge a fee.

1. The voter register is open for inspection and copying to the eligible residents of the municipality.

2. Entries must be made in the voter register up to the fifth day before the election or voting day, provided it is certain that the conditions for participation on the voting day are met. Thereafter, the voter register is considered closed.

3. Complaints regarding inclusion or exclusion from the voter register must be submitted to the municipal council.

1. The Government Council may ensure electronic voting for Swiss citizens abroad in cooperation with other cantons; in particular, it may delegate the execution of electronic voting to another canton through an agreement (so-called housing solution).

2. It shall issue the necessary implementing provisions and regulate therein, in particular

a. the details necessary for electronic voting and deviations from the voting legislation;

b. whether the electoral register for Swiss citizens abroad is maintained centrally by the cantonal administration, by the administration of the municipality of Sarnen, or on a decentralized basis.

1. The Municipal Council exercises supervision over the management of the voter register.

1. The first announcement of a municipal assembly must be made in the official gazette at least three weeks before the day of the assembly. Municipalities may issue further regulations by ordinance, particularly concerning repeated and additional publications as well as other means of publication.

2. The three-week period is deemed to have been observed if the announcement of a municipal assembly scheduled for a Friday is published in the official gazette issued three weeks prior.

1. The Chairperson of the meeting shall, at the beginning of a municipal assembly, point out the regulations concerning voting rights.

1. The chairperson of the meeting determines the number of vote counters and the procedure for counting.

2. In every type of voting, the vote counters must individually report their results to the chairperson of the meeting.

1. After the completion of a matter, no motions for reconsideration can be filed.

2. A matter is considered completed after the announcement of the result of the final vote or upon the determination by the presiding officer that no vote is necessary.

1. The municipal assembly may decide, upon a motion for order, to terminate the open discussion on a matter.

2. If such a resolution is passed, the applicants still have the right to speak in the order of their applications.

1. The voting rights certificate contains the following information required for the identification of the eligible voter: name, first name, AHV number or year of birth, and address.

2. In the case of a complete renewal election, the voting rights certificate may be equipped with perforated stubs for additional rounds of voting, each of which entitles participation in a specific round of voting.

1. Complaints regarding the non-receipt of the voting certificate must be submitted to the voting register officer at the voting location no later than one week prior to the voting Sunday.

2. The voting register officer processes the complaint, subject to further appeal to the municipal council.

3. Following an appeal to the municipal council, the municipal president issues provisional orders.

1. In the event of loss of the voting card, no replacement shall be issued.

1. The official voting materials consist of

a. * the voting envelope;

b. * the voting identification card;

c. * ...

d. * the ballot paper;

e. * the voting proposal and the explanatory message.

2-3 ...

4. At the municipal office, a sufficient number of additional messages must be kept ready for retrieval.

5. In the polling stations, ballot papers must be kept in sufficient numbers for retrieval.

1. The costs of producing voting identification cards, ballot papers, and voting envelopes are borne by the canton in cantonal matters.

2. ...

1. The voting envelope serves simultaneously for the delivery of the voting material and as the official, municipality-stamped return envelope for the submission of votes. It does not contain any information about the voting eligibility.

2. The production is arranged by the canton.

3. The government council may issue implementing provisions regarding the voting envelopes and the voting eligibility certificates tailored to them.

1. A written nomination proposal must be signed.

2. In addition to the signature, the signatories must indicate their surname, first name, and address in block letters or typewriting on the nomination proposal.

1. Substitute proposals shall take the place of officially disqualified candidates.

1. Candidates to whom one wishes to give their vote shall be marked on the ballot paper with a cross (x).

2. The cross shall be written in the rectangle printed before each name.

3. Ballot papers on which names are clearly struck out are valid.

1. The municipal council shall print the names of the non-elected candidates who do not withdraw their candidacy in the order of votes received on the ballot for the second round of voting. New nominations shall be added at the end in the order of submission.

2. If several candidates have received the same number of votes, the order shall be determined alphabetically.

3. The ballot paper as well as the voting permit, provided it is not already in the possession of the eligible voter, shall be delivered to the voters at the latest one week before election Sunday.

1. The ballot votes take place in suitable premises.

2. The premises shall be designed in such a way that voters can exercise their voting rights conveniently and without compromising the secrecy of the vote.

1. At the entrances to the polling station, which voters typically use to enter and exit the building, no propaganda is permitted; in particular, it is prohibited to distribute advertising materials, collect donations, or gather signatures.

1. The electoral office ensures peace and order in the polling station.

2. Discussion and propaganda in the polling station are prohibited.

3. Voters may not remain in the polling station longer than necessary.

4. The electoral office may request police assistance to maintain order.

1. If the person casting the vote is unable or otherwise physically incapable of casting the vote in person, a member of the voting office shall act on their behalf according to their instructions; other persons are prohibited from assisting in the voting process.

2. The member of the voting office called upon to assist must remain silent about the content of the vote.

1. Two members of the polling station staff must verify that the ballot box is empty at the beginning of the voting process.

2. ...

1. The main voting day is Sunday.

2. The municipal council determines the location and opening hours of the ballot boxes in such a way that as many eligible voters as possible can participate in the vote.

1. The municipal council determines the number and location of the voting mailboxes and their final collection.

1. On election day, the ballot boxes shall be closed at 12:00 PM noon.

2. The ballot boxes must not be opened for the counting of votes before this time. This is subject to the exception of early counting of votes cast by mail in accordance with Article 43, paragraph 3 of this ordinance.

1. **The Voting Entitled Individuals shall submit their Voting Identification Card to the Polling Station Members, who are authorized to verify the eligibility to vote in cases of doubt.**

2. **The Voting Entitled Individuals shall have their ballot paper or voting ticket endorsed on the reverse side with the municipality’s control stamp by a member of the polling station and shall place the stamped ballot paper or voting ticket into the ballot box.**

3. **The ballot submissions at the ballot box shall be securely kept until the joint count, ensuring the confidentiality of the vote and separation from postal votes.**

1. Anyone who wishes to vote by mail

a. * places the personally completed ballot paper or voting slip into the voting envelope;

b. * signs the voting certificate;

c. * seals the voting envelope;

d. * sends the voting envelope in a timely manner by mail to the municipal office, submits it during the municipal office's opening hours, or deposits it in the municipality's voting mailbox.

1. The community's voting mailbox must be regularly emptied. The retrieved voting envelopes, along with those received at the municipal office, are to be recorded in a protocol, stored in a sealed urn or another secured container, and delivered to the election office unopened along with the protocol no later than on the election day.

2. A member of the election office, with the involvement of at least one other member, separates the voting certificates from the voting envelopes and checks the voting eligibility.

3. Another member of the election office, with the involvement of at least one other member, opens the voting envelopes. The ballots contained therein are to be immediately placed unseen and unchecked into an urn or a secured container.

1. Late-arriving ballot envelopes shall not be included in the vote count. They shall be noted with a receipt mark and must be kept unopened until the confirmation or until the expiration of the appeal period.

1. The members of the polling office count the ballots and election slips together. The use of technical aids to expedite the counting process, in accordance with federal law, and the involvement of third parties for auxiliary tasks are permitted.

2. At the start of the counting, the members of the polling office open the ballot box or the secured container with the votes cast by mail.

3. The counting of the ballots and election slips cast by mail may only commence on election Sunday. Interim results must be kept confidential. The chair of the polling office ensures compliance with confidentiality through appropriate measures, particularly ensuring that no contacts with third parties are made during the counting.

4. After the polls close, the ballots and election slips, in a sealed ballot box, as well as the voting rights certificates, are brought by two members of the polling office to the joint counting location, where the ballots from various ballot boxes are mixed and counted.

5. The polling office determines the results separately according to in-person and postal votes.

1. The decision on the validity of a ballot paper is to be made by the electoral office.

2. For ballot papers declared invalid, the reason must be stated on the back.

1. If there are specific indications of an inaccurate count or unlawful conduct during the counting process, the polling office shall recount the results.

1. The absolute majority is calculated as follows: From the number of submitted ballot papers, the invalid and blank ones are subtracted; the resulting number of votes is divided by two; the next higher whole number is the absolute majority.

1. The drawing of lots in the event of a tie vote is public and conducted manually. Candidates with the same number of votes are to be invited to the drawing of lots.

2. If candidates are elected in the same municipality who, due to familial reasons, may not simultaneously belong to the same authority, the one with the higher number of votes is considered elected. In the event of a tie, the municipal council decides by drawing lots.

3. If the candidates reside in different municipalities, the government council decides by drawing lots, regardless of the number of votes obtained.

1. The voting office shall prepare a protocol for the voting process.

2. This protocol shall specifically include

a. * the subject, date, and location of the voting;

b. * the number of eligible voters;

c. * the number of postal votes;

d. * the number of submitted ballot papers;

e. * the number of invalid and blank ballots;

f. * the number of valid ballots considered;

g. * the division of valid votes into YES and NO, or by the names of the candidates for whom the votes were cast;

h. * the signatures of the president and a member of the voting office.

3. A duplicate of the protocol is to be deposited in the municipal archive.

1. In federal and cantonal votes, the electoral office immediately reports the municipal results to the State Chancellery.

2. The State Chancellery publishes the reported municipal results on the voting Sunday as a provisional cantonal result. It may also announce them as interim cantonal results.

3. The electoral office delivers the protocol either personally or by mail.

4. The State Chancellery publishes the definitive cantonal result in the next official gazette (official publication).

5. In municipal votes, the electoral office ensures the publication of the municipal result on voting Sunday, and the municipal chancellery ensures its publication in the next official gazette.

6. Elected candidates are notified in writing by the government council in the case of federal and cantonal elections, and by the municipal council in municipal elections.

1. The voting office shall keep the voting certificates and the ballots cast in person separate from those submitted by mail.

2. Upon request, they must be delivered to the state chancellery.

3. The ballots and voting certificates shall be retained until the official declaration of results or until the expiration of the appeal period.

4. In the case of federal and cantonal referendums, the state chancellery shall order the destruction; for municipal referendums, the municipal chancellery shall do so.

5. The government council may issue further regulations for the purpose of statistical evaluation.

1. In cantonal votes, the Executive Council definitively establishes the voting result after the complaint period has expired (official declaration).

2. The decision of the official declaration is to be published in the Official Gazette.

1. The Government Council shall issue the implementing provisions necessary for the execution of this ordinance.

1. Provisions contrary to this Regulation are hereby repealed, in particular

a. the Regulation on the Exercise of Voting Rights at the Landsgemeinde and in Cantonal Ballot Votes of April 9, 1934[2], insofar as it concerns ballot votes;

b. the Regulation on Voting in Cantonal Votes and Federal Elections and Votes of April 6, 1967[3];

c. * the Implementing Regulation to the Federal Decree concerning the Public Law Consequences of Unsuccessful Seizure and Bankruptcy of March 6, 1926[4].

1. Municipalities may, with the consent of the State Chancellery, use up their existing stock of previous delivery and return envelopes.

2. Once the stock is exhausted, municipalities must use the new voting envelope.

3. As long as municipalities use the previous delivery and return envelopes, the corresponding provisions of the previous law remain applicable.

1. The Council of Government determines when this ordinance comes into force.

2. It must be submitted to the Federal Council for approval with regard to Articles 33 to 41.

3. It is subject to an optional referendum.