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- Art. 5a FC
- Art. 6 FC
- Art. 10 FC
- Art. 16 FC
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- Art. 29a FC
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- Art. 32 FC
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- Art. 43 FC
- Art. 43a FC
- Art. 55 FC
- Art. 56 FC
- Art. 60 FC
- Art. 68 FC
- Art. 75b FC
- Art. 77 FC
- Art. 96 para. 2 lit. a FC
- Art. 110 FC
- Art. 117a FC
- Art. 118 FC
- Art. 123b FC
- Art. 136 FC
- Art. 166 FC
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- Art. 11 CO
- Art. 12 CO
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- Art. 701 CO
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- Art. 734f CO
- Art. 785 CO
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- Art. 787 CO
- Art. 788 CO
- Transitional provisions to the revision of the Stock Corporation Act of June 19, 2020
- Art. 808c CO
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- Art. 2 PRA
- Art. 3 PRA
- Art. 4 PRA
- Art. 6 PRA
- Art. 10 PRA
- Art. 10a PRA
- Art. 11 PRA
- Art. 12 PRA
- Art. 13 PRA
- Art. 14 PRA
- Art. 15 PRA
- Art. 16 PRA
- Art. 17 PRA
- Art. 19 PRA
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- Art. 24 PRA
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- Art. 26 PRA
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- Art. 30 PRA
- Art. 31 PRA
- Art. 32 PRA
- Art. 32a PRA
- Art. 33 PRA
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- Art. 36 PRA
- Art. 37 PRA
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- Art. 40 PRA
- Art. 41 PRA
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- Art. 47 PRA
- Art. 48 PRA
- Art. 49 PRA
- Art. 50 PRA
- Art. 51 PRA
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- Art. 53 PRA
- Art. 54 PRA
- Art. 55 PRA
- Art. 56 PRA
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- Art. 58 PRA
- Art. 59a PRA
- Art. 59b PRA
- Art. 59c PRA
- Art. 62 PRA
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- Art. 67 PRA
- Art. 67a PRA
- Art. 67b PRA
- Art. 75 PRA
- Art. 75a PRA
- Art. 76 PRA
- Art. 76a PRA
- Art. 90 PRA
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- Vorb. zu Art. 1 FADP
- Art. 1 FADP
- Art. 2 FADP
- Art. 3 FADP
- Art. 5 lit. f und g FADP
- Art. 6 Abs. 6 and 7 FADP
- Art. 7 FADP
- Art. 10 FADP
- Art. 11 FADP
- Art. 12 FADP
- Art. 14 FADP
- Art. 15 FADP
- Art. 19 FADP
- Art. 20 FADP
- Art. 22 FADP
- Art. 23 FADP
- Art. 25 FADP
- Art. 26 FADP
- Art. 27 FADP
- Art. 31 para. 2 lit. e FADP
- Art. 33 FADP
- Art. 34 FADP
- Art. 35 FADP
- Art. 38 FADP
- Art. 39 FADP
- Art. 40 FADP
- Art. 41 FADP
- Art. 42 FADP
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- Art. 44 FADP
- Art. 44a FADP
- Art. 45 FADP
- Art. 46 FADP
- Art. 47 FADP
- Art. 47a FADP
- Art. 48 FADP
- Art. 49 FADP
- Art. 50 FADP
- Art. 51 FADP
- Art. 54 FADP
- Art. 57 FADP
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- Art. 60 FADP
- Art. 61 FADP
- Art. 62 FADP
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- Art. 69 FADP
- Art. 72 FADP
- Art. 72a FADP
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- Art. 2 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 3 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 4 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 5 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 6 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 7 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 8 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 9 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 11 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 12 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 25 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 29 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 32 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 33 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
- Art. 34 CCC (Convention on Cybercrime)
FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
CODE OF OBLIGATIONS
FEDERAL LAW ON PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
LUGANO CONVENTION
CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE
FEDERAL ACT ON POLITICAL RIGHTS
CIVIL CODE
FEDERAL ACT ON CARTELS AND OTHER RESTRAINTS OF COMPETITION
FEDERAL ACT ON INTERNATIONAL MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS
DEBT ENFORCEMENT AND BANKRUPTCY ACT
FEDERAL ACT ON DATA PROTECTION
SWISS CRIMINAL CODE
CYBERCRIME CONVENTION
- I. History of origins
- II. Significance of the provision
- III. Commentary on the text of the norm
- Materials
- Bibliography
I. History of origins
1 Art. 49 para. 1 PRA, which contains a catalogue of grounds for invalidity under federal law for ballot papers in majoritarian cantons, dates back to the enactment of the PRA in 1976. Already in the Federal Act on the Election of the National Council of 14 February 1919, which regulated the National Council election procedure before the enactment of the PRA, grounds for invalidity could be found in various provisions, but these were not applicable to the majority voting procedure in single-member constituencies. Before the enactment of the PRA, the validity of ballot papers in majoritarian cantons had to be assessed exclusively on the basis of cantonal law.
2 According to aArt. 49 para. 1 lit. e PRA, ballot papers posted at a foreign post office were invalid. This made it considerably more difficult for Swiss citizens abroad who were entitled to vote to exercise their voting and electoral rights insofar as they had to travel to Switzerland to exercise their political rights. With the introduction of postal voting rights for the Swiss abroad in 1992, Art. 49 para. 1 lit. e PRA was repealed. Otherwise, the grounds for invalidity regulated in Art. 49 para. 1 PRA since 1976 have remained unchanged to this day.
3 Art. 49 para. 2 PRA, which refers to grounds for invalidity and nullity connected with the cantonal procedure, was inserted with the partial revision of 1 September 1993. The provision corresponds exactly to Art. 12 para. 2 PRA, which provides for a corresponding reservation for ballot papers in substantive votes and has already existed since the PRA was enacted in 1976. Neither the 1975 message on Art. 12 para. 2 PRA nor the message on the partial revision of the PRA of 1993, however, make any further reference to the initially differing and then concurring regulations on cantonal grounds for invalidity in proportional representation and majority cantons. It can be assumed that the enactment of Art. 49 para. 2 PRA was an editorial addition, especially since there are no apparent reasons for a different approach.
4 Art. 49 para. 3 PRA, according to which the law of the implementing canton defines the requirements for valid voting and the grounds for invalidity for trials with electronic voting, entered into force on 1 January 2003. The intention was to consolidate the legal basis for e-voting pilot projects.
II. Significance of the provision
A. Determination of the election result
5 According to Art. 34 para. 2 FC, the guarantee of political rights protects the free formation of will and the undistorted casting of votes. This also gives rise to a right of those entitled to vote to careful sorting and qualification of the ballot papers and to correct counting of the votes.
6 The determination of the results of the National Council elections - and in this respect also the upstream assessment of the validity of the ballot papers - is basically carried out in the municipal election offices. As a rule, these offices are composed of administrative employees and voters. The counting is therefore not carried out exclusively by the administration, but with the participation of a politically representative collegiate body. The cantons must report any deviating responsibilities to the joint reporting office of the Federal Chancellery and the Federal Statistical Office. Ultimately, the regulation of the counting procedure and also the internal cantonal responsibilities is therefore a matter of cantonal law.
7 For substantive votes, Art. 13 para. 1 PRA expressly stipulates that blank and invalid ballot papers are not taken into account when determining the result of the vote. The same applies to blank and invalid ballot papers in National Council elections. When the PRA was enacted, this was still explicitly regulated by aArt. 50 PRA for National Council elections in majority cantons. From 1994 to 2008, a corresponding provision was contained in Art. 20a PRA as a general regulation for National Council elections in major and proportional representation cantons. However, Art. 20a PRA was repealed in the course of the formal revision of federal law of 22 August 2007, since the determination that blank and invalid ballot papers were not to be taken into account was based on Art. 37 para. 1, 40, 46 para. 1 and 47 para. 1 PRA. Blank and invalid ballot papers therefore have no effect in National Council elections, even if this is no longer explicitly regulated at federal level.
8 Art. 49 PRA regulates the invalidity of ballot papers. If a ballot paper that is valid in itself contains the name of an ineligible person, it is - terminologically correct - an invalid vote. As a result, invalid votes - just like invalid ballot papers - are disregarded when determining the election result.
B. Catalogue of grounds for invalidity
9 Art. 49 para. 1 PRA contains a consolidated catalogue of general grounds for invalidity of ballot papers in National Council elections in single-member constituencies. The provision applies to both in-person voting at the ballot box and postal voting. Largely the same grounds for invalidity are provided for ballot papers in proportional representation in Art. 38 para. 1 PRA and for ballot papers in federal referendums in Art. 12 para. 1 PRA. The summary and listing of the grounds for invalidity was primarily intended to make it easier for the electoral and election offices to assess the validity of ballot papers.
10 Art. 49 para. 1 PRA is limited to listing formal grounds for invalidity. In formal terms, this must be a conclusive list under federal law in the interest of a uniform and rapid determination of the election result. In addition to formal grounds, however, there may also be substantive grounds for invalidity (e.g. exclusion from the right to vote within the meaning of Art. 2 of the PRA or the ineligibility of the person designated).
11 Furthermore, according to Art. 49 para. 2 PRA, reasons related to the cantonal procedure can lead to the invalidity (or nullity) of a ballot paper. The cantons also know catalogues of grounds for invalidity. In the election of the National Council, however, only those grounds for invalidity that go beyond Art. 49 para. 1 PRA are of independent significance.
12 The grounds for invalidity provided for in the PRA and in cantonal law describe circumstances in which the conduct of the voter leads to the invalidity of his or her vote. If, however, the error originates on the official side, e.g. if faulty ballot papers are issued, then it is not an invalid vote but an electoral error that may lead to the invalidation and repetition of the election.
13 Overall, when assessing the validity of ballot papers, the formal grounds for invalidity under federal law according to Art. 49 para. 1 PRA, substantive grounds for invalidity in connection with the right to vote and grounds for invalidity under cantonal law must therefore be taken into account. The decision on the validity or invalidity of a ballot paper must be based on these electoral law requirements and is not at the discretion of the deciding electoral body.
C. Comparison of laws
14 In the canton of Glarus, the communal election offices, consisting of at least four members and headed by the communal clerk, decide on the validity or invalidity of ballot papers. In addition to the grounds for invalidity under federal law, ballot papers are also invalid under Glarus law if they are cast without a signed voting card, if they are cast in a manner not provided for by law and if they do not clearly indicate the will of the voter. A ballot paper submitted by post is also invalid if the mailing contains more than one ballot paper or ballot envelope or if the ballot paper or ballot envelope contains more than one ballot paper or ballot envelope on the same matter. Ballot papers submitted late shall also be disregarded in determining the result. The reason for invalidity shall be noted on the ballot papers declared invalid and the invalidity shall be confirmed by signature by a member of the electoral office.
15 The canton of Glarus was the only major canton to be a member of the Vote eléctronique consortium and was thus involved in e-voting trials. After the Federal Council rejected the request of the consortium cantons to be able to offer e-voting for Swiss citizens abroad on the occasion of the 2015 National Council elections, work on the introduction of e-voting in the canton of Glarus has been suspended. The electronic voting channel is therefore not available to voters in Glarus - not even for the National Council elections - until further notice.
16 In the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, the counting and thus also the assessment of the validity of ballot papers is carried out by a counting office elected by the municipal council and consisting of at least five members. In addition to the grounds for invalidity under federal law, ballot papers that are not inserted in the official voting envelope are invalid under cantonal law. Voting by post is only valid if the voting (legal) document and the voting envelope (with the ballot paper) are in the delivery envelope and the vote has arrived at the municipal office before the polls close. The cantonal law of Appenzell Ausserrhoden does not currently contain any provisions on electronic voting.
17 In the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden, federal ballots are conducted in the districts. The assessment of the validity of ballot papers is carried out by the polling offices located at district level as part of the determination of the election results. According to cantonal law, ballot papers that do not clearly indicate the will of the person voting are invalid. Ballot papers submitted by post are then invalid if they have arrived at the polling station after the polls have closed, if there are ballot papers in the same envelope with other ballot papers for the same vote that are not identical, and if the declaration that the vote corresponds to the will of the person voting is not signed. Innerrhoden law also does not yet have any provisions on electronic voting.
18 In the canton of Uri, the election results are determined by the polling station offices in the communes, whereby the control and counting can be delegated to individual office members. According to cantonal law, ballot papers are invalid if they do not clearly indicate the will of the voter, are thrown into the ballot box without an envelope or with a private envelope, are in the same envelope with other ballot papers for the same vote or election, have not been placed in the correct voting envelope or are torn. In the case of postal voting, ballot papers shall be invalid if the voting card is not enclosed, the voting card is not signed, the return envelope does not contain the required enclosures or the voting envelope is provided with information that removes the secrecy of the vote. In the event of disagreement or doubt as to whether a ballot paper is to be considered valid, invalid or blank, the polling station present shall decide. As far as electronic voting is concerned, the Uri Election and Voting Act only regulates the responsibilities for enacting further, implementing provisions and conducting trials. So far, however, attempts to supplement the law with corresponding implementing provisions have failed, which is why the law of Uri does not currently provide any grounds for invalidity for electronic voting.
19 In the canton of Obwalden, the counting and assessment of the validity of ballot papers is the responsibility of the communal electoral offices. According to cantonal law, ballot papers that are not intended for this (National Council) election, that do not clearly indicate the will of the voter, that are collected, filled in or altered according to plan and those that are not stamped when voting in person are invalid. In the case of postal voting, the vote shall also be invalid if it is received by the polling station after the polls have closed, if the voting card is not enclosed, if the voting card is not signed, if there are several identical or non-identical voting or ballot papers in the voting envelope for the same vote or election, or if the voting or ballot paper is in an unofficial or unsealed voting envelope. In the case of invalidated ballot papers, the reason must be stated on the back of the ballot paper. In the canton of Obwalden, there is a legal basis for issuing implementing regulations on electronic voting. However, such regulations, and in this respect a regulation with reasons for invalidity in electronic voting, have not yet been issued.
20 In the canton of Nidwalden, the voting results are determined by the communal electoral offices, which also assess the validity of the ballot papers. Terminologically, the Nidwalden Introductory Act to the PRA differentiates between the validity of the (postal) vote and the validity of the ballot papers. Only the ballot papers of valid postal votes are placed in the ballot box for later counting, while preserving the secrecy of the ballot. A postal vote is valid if the voter is entered in the electoral register, the vote has been received by the polling station before the poll closes and the voting card has been signed by hand. Postal votes declared invalid shall be treated as invalid ballot papers. In addition to the invalidity rule under federal law, ballot papers that do not clearly indicate the will of the person voting are invalid. If a reply or voting envelope contains several ballot papers for the same vote, they are all invalid. They shall count together as one invalid vote. The reason for invalidity must be noted on the invalidated ballot papers. As in the canton of Obwalden, in the canton of Nidwalden there is a legal delegation of authority to the cantonal government to issue implementing provisions on electronic voting, but these have not yet been issued.
21 In the 2019 National Council elections, the assessment of the validity of the ballot papers in the current six Majorz cantons showed the following picture:
Canton Glarus: 106 invalid ballots out of 10,578 cast = 1%.
Canton Uri: 104 invalid ballots out of 12,282 cast = 0.8%
Canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden: 65 invalid ballots out of 16,126 cast = 0.4%
Canton Appenzell Innerrhoden: 147 invalid ballot papers out of 5'820 received = 2.5%
Canton Obwalden: 285 invalid out of 14'920 ballots cast = 1.9%
Canton of Nidwalden: 148 invalid votes out of 15,038 cast = 0.9%.
The proportion of invalid votes in National Council elections in Majorz cantons varies greatly from canton to canton, but is low overall, which can be explained by the comparatively simple majority voting procedure and the fact that only one person is to be elected.
III. Commentary on the text of the norm
A. Grounds for invalidity under federal law (para. 1)
1. Names of different persons (lit. a)
22 According to Art. 49 para. 1 lit. a PRA, ballot papers are invalid if they contain the names of different persons. This ground for invalidity is - obviously - a specific feature of the election in single-member constituencies and ultimately serves to protect the undistorted casting of votes pursuant to Art. 34 para. 2 FC. Difficulties of assessment should thus be excluded from the outset and it should be ensured that the will of the electorate is clearly expressed.
2. Non-official ballot papers (lit. b)
23 According to Art. 5 para. 1 sentence 1 PRA, the official ballot papers, i.e. the ballot papers handed out to voters by the authorities, must be used for voting. This principle of the compulsory use of official ballot papers was introduced with the enactment of the PRA in 1976. Consequently, Art. 49 para. 1 lit. b PRA declares non-official ballot papers invalid. A valid vote requires the exclusive use of the ballot paper officially produced for the election in question. Voting on a forged, copied or - by individuals or organisations - self-produced ballot paper is therefore invalid. In contrast, any (slight) damage to the official ballot paper or defective printing has no influence on the official character and validity, as long as the will of the person or persons entitled to vote is still recognisable.
24 In majoritarian cantons with the possibility of a silent election, according to Art. 50 para. 1 PRA, all candidates nominated in due time must be listed on the ballot paper in pre-printed form. Conversely, the majoritarian cantons without the possibility of a silent ballot must print blank official ballot papers on which voters can list each eligible candidate by hand.
25 Prior to the enactment of the PRA, the use of both official and unofficial ballot papers was permitted in National Council elections, and even today certain cantons permit voting with unofficial ballot papers in cantonal and communal elections. Unofficial ballot papers are ballot papers on which political groups - mostly parties - list their candidate or individuals list themselves. The advantage of unofficial ballot papers is that a candidate - from a party or by himself or herself - can thus be recommended for election directly with the election documents.
26 With the interpellation no. 12.3291 "Simplification of the National Council elections in major cantons", it was proposed in 2012 to also or again permit unofficial pre-printed ballot papers in major cantons. In the opinion of the interpellant, candidates and political groups should be able to have unofficial ballot papers sent with the voting documents in order to make it easier for voters - and especially the Swiss abroad - to know the necessary information about the candidates. The Federal Council, however, was clearly against the admission of non-official ballot papers in the election of the National Council in majoritarian cantons. According to the Federal Council, the compulsory use of official ballot papers is an important achievement of the 1976 PRA because it ensures equal treatment of all candidates and groups and prevents election manipulation. In the course of the partial revision of the PRA of 26 September 2014, the re-admission of unofficial ballot papers in majoritarian cantons was abandoned and the possibility of a voluntary registration procedure was introduced instead. However, this has so far only been practised in the canton of Glarus. 3.
3. No handwritten filling in (lit. c)
27 Ballot papers that are filled in other than by hand are invalid according to Art. 49 para. 1 lit. c PRA. This ground for invalidity results from the general principle according to Art. 5 para. 2 sentence 1 PRA, according to which ballot papers and ballot papers without a form must be filled in by hand. The handwritten correction of the expression of will is permissible as long as the will of the person or persons voting remains clearly recognisable. On the other hand, ballot papers that have been "pre-filled" by machine would qualify as invalid, whereby such ballot papers would regularly already lack official character. The handwriting requirement is intended to prevent so-called vote catching. This is understood to mean the planned collection, filling in or alteration of ballot papers or the distribution of such ballot papers or ballot papers. Vote catching is punishable by a fine.
28 If the Federal Council has granted a basic authorisation for the experimental use of the electronic voting channel, the provisions on voting at the ballot box and postal voting may be deviated from to the extent necessary for this purpose. In particular, the validity requirement of handwriting may not be maintained in the case of pilot trials with electronic voting.
4. Defamatory statements or obvious markings (lit. d)
29 According to the Federal Act on the Election of the National Council of 14 February 1919, ballot papers containing defamatory remarks were already invalid. Any insulting or offensive expression is to be understood as defamatory.
30 With the enactment of the PRA, the invalidity of defamatory remarks was incorporated into the new law and supplemented by the "obvious markings". According to the Federal Council, this term includes any kind of additional signs on the ballot paper. The inadmissibility of obvious markings serves to protect the secrecy of the ballot against individual violations on the part of individual voters. The right to a secret ballot arises from the constitutional freedom to vote under Article 34 para. 2 FC and is also expressly enshrined in law in Article 5 para. 7 FC. The right includes, among other things, that the ballot papers cannot be subsequently assigned to individual voters. A violation of the right to a secret ballot is thus in particular those ballot papers that reveal the identity of the author through marking. However, comments that "merely" clarify the will of the voter can also lead to the invalidity of the ballot paper.
B. Grounds for invalidity and nullity under cantonal law (para. 2)
31 The National Council elections are federal elections and are in principle regulated by federal law. However, the National Council elections are held in the cantons or in the political communes. Pursuant to Articles 7 and 8 of the PRA, the cantons are required to enact provisions to ensure the control of voting eligibility, voting secrecy and the recording of all votes in the case of personal and postal voting, and to prevent abuses. The provisions enacted in this sense also include the cantonal regulations on the invalidity of voting and ballot papers.
32 Following the example of Art. 49 para. 1 PRA, the current six major cantons (GL, AR, AI, UR, OW, NW) have enumerated lists of grounds for invalidating ballot papers in their decrees on political rights. In each case, invalidity (not nullity) is mentioned, and in all six majority cantons a distinction is made between "general" grounds for invalidity for voting in person and by post and those that only concern voting by post. In the National Council elections, however, only those grounds for invalidity that go beyond Art. 49 para. 1 PRA are of independent significance.
33 In general, according to the law of the current six majority cantons, ballot papers that do not clearly indicate the will of the voter(s) are to be declared invalid. This ground for invalidity serves to protect the undistorted casting of votes within the meaning of Art. 34 para. 2 FC. For example, a ballot paper with a name that - due to a lack of further information or contradictory information - does not clearly indicate a certain eligible person would be invalid. In this sense, illegible information could also lead to the invalidity of the ballot paper. The cantonally widespread rule according to which the submission of several ballot papers on the same matter in one ballot envelope leads to the invalidity of all ballot papers also serves to protect the undistorted casting of votes and also to prevent multiple voting. As indicated in Art. 49 para. 2 PRA, the cantons also have grounds for invalidity related to the voting envelope. In the canton of Uri, for example, ballot papers are invalid if they are not cast in the official voting envelope or if they are cast without a voting envelope. The grounds for invalidity related to the voting envelope are primarily to be understood as organisational measures to safeguard the secrecy of the ballot.
34 In postal voting, there is an increased risk of unauthorised or multiple voting compared to voting in person. To counter this increased risk, all cantons have additional grounds for invalidating postal voting. For example, incomplete documents (in particular a missing voting card or an unsigned voting card) generally lead to the invalidity of the ballot paper cast. Furthermore, handing in an unsealed voting envelope by post - in order to protect the secrecy of the ballot - results in the invalidity of the ballot paper.
35 The cantons have some leeway in enacting grounds for invalidity and can apply a stricter or less strict standard. Ultimately, however, the grounds for invalidity must be justifiable in the light of proportionality and must correspond to a public interest. Excessively formalistic requirements for voting should be avoided in view of the importance of political rights.
C. Grounds for invalidity in the case of attempts at electronic voting (para. 3)
36 The Federal Council may, in agreement with interested cantons and communes, authorise trials of electronic voting that are limited in terms of location, time and subject matter. Each canton is therefore free to decide whether and to what extent it wishes to provide for this possibility.
37 Pursuant to Art. 49 para. 3 PRA, the law of the implementing canton defines the requirements for valid voting and the grounds for invalidity for trials with electronic voting. Corresponding cantonal regulations are indispensable, especially since, on the one hand, the grounds for invalidity tailored to personal and postal voting cannot be applied to electronic voting. On the other hand, manipulations can quickly affect a large number of people. Provisions should therefore be made in particular to prevent multiple voting or voting by unauthorised persons.
38 In order to be valid, the cantonal provisions require the approval of the Federal Council, which in turn is a condition for the basic authorisation of the Federal Council within the meaning of Art. 8a PRA and Art. 27a VPR. In addition to the basic authorisation, the experimental use of the electronic voting channel in the National Council elections requires authorisation by the Federal Chancellery, which is granted on the basis of art. 27e CPD and the VEleS. The details of the authorisation procedure are set out in the Federal Chancellery's guidelines on the authorisation procedure.
39 In contrast to voting in person and by post, with e-voting there is in principle the possibility of checking the validity of an electronic vote ex ante (and not only ex post). If an e-voting system is set up in such a way that it does not allow voting at all if there is a reason for invalidity, invalid electronic votes could be prevented altogether. For voters, e-voting would therefore have the advantage that they would be informed in advance by the system of any grounds for invalidity and would be able to rectify them. Transparency with regard to the validity of the vote could be clearly improved. On the part of the authorities, the automated verification of the validity of votes and the determination of the election result, which is possible with e-voting, would enable savings in personnel resources.
40 Of the major-majority cantons, trials with e-voting have so far only been carried out in the canton of Glarus. Against this background, only the canton of Glarus knows a catalogue of invalidity grounds for e-voting. However, the trials did not take place in the National Council elections, but in two federal referendums in 2015 and were limited to Swiss abroad in terms of personnel.
Materials
Botschaft des Bundesrates an die Bundesversammlung zu einem Bundesgesetz über die politischen Rechte vom 9.4.1975, BBl 1975 I S. 1317 ff. (zit. Botschaft BPR).
Botschaft über eine Änderung des Bundesgesetzes über die politischen Rechte vom 30.11.2001, BBl 2001 S. 6401 ff. (zit. Botschaft 2001).
Botschaft zur formellen Bereinigung des Bundesrechts vom 22.8.2007, BBl 2007 S. 6121 ff. (zit. Botschaft 2007).
Kreisschreiben des Bundesrates an die Kantonsregierungen vom 19.10.2022 über die Gesamterneuerungswahl des Nationalrates vom 22.10.2023, BBl 2022 S. 2547 ff. (zit. Kreisschreiben 2022).
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