I. History of origin

1 After the introduction of the optional referendum in 1874, the procedure to be followed was initially regulated by the Federal Act on Referendums and Federal Decisions, but it did not contain any explicit instructions on how the signature lists were to be designed. This was in contrast to the provisions on popular initiatives, which regulated these formal aspects from the outset. With the enactment of the Federal Act on Political Rights (PRA) in 1976, provisions on the formal requirements for signature lists were also enshrined in law for the first time for referendums. However, the requirements did not go beyond what was already customary for signature lists for optional referendums.

2 The provision was revised in 1996. In addition to the editorial adaptation of the introductory sentence in para. 1, two changes were made. Firstly, para. 1 lit. c has since required the reference to the offence of active and passive bribery under Art. 281 of the Swiss Criminal Code (SCC). This addition was not included in the Federal Council's draft, but was proposed by the National Council's preliminary advisory committee and adopted by the National Council and the Council of States without discussion. Secondly, a second paragraph was added with the previously self-evident principle that each popular request must have its own signature list.

II. Significance of the provision

A. General

3 According to Article 141 of the Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (FC), 50,000 persons eligible to vote may demand that a popular vote be held on an issue that is subject to a referendum requirement. To ensure that this will can be expressed in a comprehensible manner, Article 60 PRA regulates the requirements for the signature lists. The requirements are formal minimum requirements for the signature lists. If the information mentioned is missing, the statements of support on the signature list are invalid according to Art. 66 para. 2 let. a PRA.

4 While the Federal Chancellery determines by decree whether the signature list for popular initiatives meets the legal requirements, no such formal preliminary examination takes place for optional referendums. In view of the short collection period and the simpler situation – due to the reference to a parliamentary decree – compared to a popular initiative, the need for a preliminary examination to be concluded with a decree also appears limited. In addition, there is no institutionalized committee for optional referendums and the request cannot be withdrawn.

5 In addition to the minimum information, the originators of a signature collection may include further elements in the signature list, such as promotional statements, declarations of consent, etc. If the collected data is to be processed for further purposes, the consent of the signatories must be expressly obtained for data protection reasons.

B. Legal comparison

6 The cantons generally have comparable provisions regarding the formal requirements for signature lists. The cantons of Nidwalden, Ticino and Vaud require the date of publication in the official gazette rather than the date of the decree if the decree is subject to a referendum. The Canton of Solothurn requires the date of publication as well as the date of the enactment. The Cantons of Schwyz and Zug have no legal requirements for signature lists.

7 In line with the federal government, the cantons generally require that all signatories on a signature list must have their political domicile in the same municipality. This is not required in the Canton of Geneva, as the voter's certificate is organized centrally.

8 Some cantons require further information to be included on the signature list, such as additional information on deadlines. For example, in the Canton of Bern, the last possible date for submitting the list to the office keeping the electoral register must be indicated, while in the Cantons of Fribourg and Vaud, the start and end of the collection period must be indicated, and in the Cantons of Valais and Neuchâtel, the expiry of the submission period must be indicated.

9 In the cantons of Lucerne, Aargau, Basel-Landschaft and Vaud, the names and addresses of the members of the referendum committee must be indicated on the signature list. The canton of Lucerne also regulates which information may be optionally included on the signature list: On the one hand, the list may show who launched the referendum request, and on the other hand, any justifications and explanations are admissible, provided that they are clearly separate from the request and not misleading.

10 In the Canton of Geneva, an alternative penalty must also be indicated. Accordingly, anyone who provides a signature other than their own or more than one signature will be subject to an administrative penalty of up to 100 francs.

III. Commentary on the text of the standard

A. Paragraph 1

11 Paragraph 1 lists the minimum information that must be included on a signature list in order for a signature provided on it to be considered valid.

12 The provision does not define a format for the signature list, but it does list indicative formats: a sheet, a form or a card. When the Initiative Act of 1962 was enacted, the Federal Council felt obliged to clarify that the term “signature sheet” used in the law at the time did not preclude signatures from being affixed to “postcards” or “newspaper clippings”, provided that these contained all the legally required information. He justified this by saying that an overly strict practice regarding the format would restrict the free exercise of the people's right. With the inclusion of the non-exhaustive list of possible formats in the PRA, the legal situation is clarified in the wording of the law itself.

13 The PRA does not provide for any formal preliminary examination of the signature lists for optional referendums. However, referendum committees may register with the Federal Chancellery before collecting signatures and send it the draft signature list for checking. This service provided by the Federal Chancellery is not provided for by law – in contrast to the popular initiative (Art. 69 para. 1 PRA) – but it is useful for reasons of democratic policy to reduce the risk of formal errors. The committees usually make use of this official service.

14 According to Art. 18 of the Ordinance on Political Rights (VPR), templates of a signature list can be obtained free of charge from the Federal Chancellery in any official language. In practice, the Federal Chancellery provides the authors of a referendum with such blank templates together with a guide containing the most important information. In addition, the Federal Chancellery publishes a neutral version of the signature list, including the address to which signed signature lists should be sent, on its website, provided that a referendum committee contacts the Federal Chancellery and expresses a corresponding need.

1. Let. a

15 For each signature list, the political municipality and the associated canton in which the signatories are eligible to vote must be stated. The political domicile must be stated in accordance with Article 39 paragraph 2 FC in conjunction with Article 3 PRA. It is the place where the signatory must be registered in the electoral register in accordance with Article 4 paragraph 1 PRA. The provision continues to use the generic masculine (“the signatory”) and also includes female signatories, as is also the case elsewhere in the PRA.

16 The provision refers to the political municipality and the canton in the singular. Persons eligible to vote whose political domicile differs may not sign on the same signature list. Prior to the enactment of the PRA, the advisory committee discussed whether the provision is too restrictive and whether signatories from different municipalities should be able to sign on the same signature list. Accordingly, the committee considered amending the wording and – as a further alternative – classifying the provision merely as an organizational regulation rather than a validity provision. Ultimately, the committee retained the Federal Council's proposal and instructed the administration to review the wording to make it unequivocally clear that only persons eligible to vote with the same political domicile may sign a signature list.

17 For submission, the signature lists must be sorted by canton in accordance with Art. 20 para. 1 VPR. The Federal Chancellery then sorts the signature lists further by municipality for the counting.

18 The office responsible under cantonal law for certifying voting rights checks whether all signatories in the relevant municipality are registered in the electoral register (Art. 19 para. 1 VPR). If this is not the case, the right to vote is not certified (Art. 19 para. 2 let. f VPR) and the signature is invalid.

19 According to Art. 14 para. 1 of the Ordinance on Swiss Persons and Institutions Abroad (V-ASG), Swiss citizens living abroad must indicate their municipality of voting and the corresponding canton. The municipality of voting is determined in accordance with Art. 18 para. 1 and 2 of the Federal Act on Swiss Persons and Institutions Abroad (ASG) in conjunction with Art. 8 V-ASG and is usually located in the last municipality of residence in Switzerland. When providing their address in accordance with Art. 61 para. 2 PRA, Swiss Abroad indicate their foreign residential address so that the official office certifying the vote can recognize that the signatory is listed in the electoral register of Swiss Abroad. Some cantons maintain the electoral register centrally, so that the central office carries out the verification of voting rights.

20 In practice, it regularly occurs that in merged communes the original commune name is occasionally given. As long as the attribution is possible, this does not affect the validity of the signature list.

2. Let. b

21 The enactment to which the referendum relates is to be named with the correct designation as well as the date of the decision by the Federal Assembly. According to practice, the date of publication in the Federal Gazette is also indicated. The Federal Chancellery's sample forms always contain this information. However, the reference is not a legal requirement and its absence does not – in contrast to the correct designation of the decree and the date of the decision – invalidate the signature list.

22 The designation of the enactment corresponds to the title of the enactment as decided by the Federal Assembly and published in the Federal Gazette in accordance with Art. 13 para. 1 let. e of the Federal Act on the Compilations of Federal Legislation and the Federal Gazette (PublA).

23 The final vote in the Federal Assembly, which according to Art. 81 para. 1^bis of the Federal Act on the Federal Assembly (ParlA) is to be held on the same day in both councils, is considered to be the date of the decision. This is also the date of enactment, as Parliament has legally and validly enacted the enactment, subject to the referendum. Signatures may only be collected from the date of publication of the relevant enactment in the Federal Gazette (Art. 141 para. 1 FC and Art. 59a PRA).

24 The request for a referendum must always relate to the entire enactment and cannot be limited to parts thereof. There is no such thing as a 'partial referendum' at federal level.

3. Let. c

25 The PRA originally only required a note stating that falsifying the result of a referendum petition was punishable under Art. 282 SCC. In 1996, the provision was amended to include the offence of election bribery under Art. 281 SCC. The order in which the criminal offences are listed therefore does not follow the numbering in the SCC.

26 Article 282 SCC specifically prohibits unauthorized participation in a referendum request and falsifying the result of a signature collection by adding, changing, omitting or deleting signatures (electoral fraud). For example, a person who signs a referendum request multiple times or signs it with the name and signature of a third party is committing an offense.

27 According to Art. 281 SCC, anyone who offers, promises, gives or provides a gift or other advantage to a person entitled to vote in order that they sign a referendum is liable to prosecution for active electoral bribery. Voters are liable to prosecution for passive election bribery if they accept or are promised such an advantage. However, under current law, people collecting signatures may be compensated, even if they are paid per signature collected.

28 Several initiatives at the federal level have called for a ban on paid signature gathering, but have not been able to prevail in the past. In connection with the cases of allegedly falsified signatures that came to light in 2024, the demand for a ban on paid signature gathering is once again under discussion. In addition to this drastic measure, there are also less far-reaching proposals at the legislative level to regulate the area. In October 2024, the Federal Chancellery itself set up a round table on the integrity of signature collections. This is intended to define quality standards for signature collections and to record them in a joint code of conduct.

29 The reference to the criminal offences is a validity requirement for the signature list. However, in its dispatch, the Federal Council pointed out that individual voters can also support a referendum by notifying the Federal Chancellery of their will in writing, including a certificate of eligibility to vote. In this case, the information required under a and b is necessary, but not the information under c. This note in the message caused misunderstandings during the legislative deliberations and had to be clarified: The reference to the penal provisions should only be dispensable in exceptional cases, namely when voters request the referendum on a referendum decree in a personal letter that only they sign. This exception is correct in substance. While the requirements under lit. a and b are indispensable for the expression of will and the proof of voting rights, the reference under lit. c appears as a protective measure in the context of collecting signatures. However, the exceptional case described is theoretical and, as far as can be seen, plays no role in practice.

B. Paragraph 2

30 The signature of a person eligible to vote can only refer to a single request for a referendum. This principle was not explicitly regulated by law for a long time, but was considered self-evident. In legal doctrine, it is associated with the principle of unity of subject matter. According to the view presented here, it can be derived from Art. 60 para. 1 let. b PRA by means of grammatical interpretation. According to this provision, the signature lists must refer to the respective enactment and not to the respective enactments. Since 1997, Art. 60 para. 2 PRA has clearly stated the legal situation: if signatures are collected for several referendums at the same time, a separate signature list must be provided for each referendum.

31 In the early days of the optional referendum at the federal level in the 19th century, the principle was still unclear. Consequently, there is a precedent in which four decrees of the Federal Assembly were successfully opposed by a single referendum request. A single signature list was created that referred to all four decrees, and the voters were able to demand a referendum on all four proposals by signing the list.

Thanks to Julien Fiechter and Valentina Beti for reading the article and providing their suggestions.

Bibliography

Hangartner Yvo/Kley Andreas/Braun Binder Nadja/Glaser Andreas, Die demokratischen Rechte in Bund und Kantonen der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft, 2. Aufl., Zürich 2023 (zit. Hangartner/Kley/Braun Binder/Glaser).

Jacquemoud Camilla, La libre formation de la volonté des signataires d’un référendum, SJZ/RSJ 116/2020, S. 223–236 (zit. Jacquemoud).

Kley Andreas, Demokratisches Instrumentarium, in: Biaggini Giovanni/Gächter Thomas/Kiener Regina (Hrsg.), Staatsrecht, 3. Aufl., Zürich 2021, S. 360–388 (zit. Kley, § … Rz. …).

Wehrle Stefan, Kommentierung von Art. 282, in: Niggli Marcel Alexander/Wiprächtiger Hans (Hrsg.), Basler Kommentar Strafrecht (StGB/JStG), 4. Aufl., Basel 2019 (zit. BSK StGB-Wehrle, Art. 282).

Materials

Bericht des Bundesrathes vom 9.6.1884 an die Bundesversammlung, betreffend die eidgenössische Volksabstimmung vom 11.5.1884, BBl 1884 III 157 ff., https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/fga/1884/3_157_162_/de, besucht am 20.3.2025 (zit. Bericht 1884).

Botschaft des Bundesrathes an die Bundesversammlung zum Gesetz über das Verfahren und die Abstimmung bei Volksbegehren betreffend die Bundesverfassung vom 22.7.1891, BBl 1891 IV 11 ff.), https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/fga/1891/4_11_964_/de, besucht am 20.3.2025 (zit. Botschaft 1891).

Botschaft des Bundesrates an die Bundesversammlung zum Entwurf für eine Neufassung des Bundesgesetzes über das Verfahren bei Volksbegehren und Abstimmungen betreffend Revision der Bundesverfassung vom 25.4.1960, BBl 1960 I 1431 ff., https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/fga/1960/1_1431_1491_713/de, besucht am 20.3.2025 (zit. Botschaft 1960).

Botschaft des Bundesrates an die Bundesversammlung zu einem Bundesgesetz über die politischen Rechte vom 9.4.1975, BBl 1975 I 1317 ff., https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/fga/1975/1_1317_1337_1313/de, besucht am 20.3.2025 (zit. Botschaft 1975).

Botschaft des Bundesrates über eine Teiländerung der Bundesgesetzgebung über die politischen Rechte vom 1.9.1993, BBl 1993 III 445 ff., https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/fga/1993/3_445_405_309/de, besucht am 20.3.2025 (zit. Botschaft 1993).

Bundeskanzlei, Vademecum Stimmrechtsbescheinigungen, 2. Aufl., Bern 2015, https://www.bk.admin. ch/dam/bk/de/dokumente/pore/Brosch%C3%BCre%20Stimmrechtsbescheinigung.pdf.download.pdf/Brosch%C3%BCre%20Stimmrechtsbescheinigung.pdf (zit. Vademecum 2015).

Leitfaden vom 15.12.2022 der Datenschutzbehörden von Bund und Kantonen zur Anwendung des Datenschutzrechts auf die digitale Bearbeitung von Personendaten im Zusammenhang mit Wahlen und Abstimmungen in der Schweiz, https://backend.edoeb.admin.ch/fileservice/sdweb-docs-prod-edoebch-files/files/2024/11/05/6abf888a-aa2a-4d9e-b0d3-32622d8c4bba.pdf, besucht am 20.3.2025 (zit. Leitfaden).

Medienmitteilung vom 23.8.2023, «Kein Verbot des bezahlten Sammelns von Unterschriften für eidgenössische Initiativen und Referenden», https://www.bk.admin.ch/bk/de/home/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-97449.html, besucht am 20.3.2025 (zit. Medienmitteilung vom 23.8.2023).

Medienmitteilung vom 30.10.2024, «Auftakt zum Runden Tisch «Integrität von Unterschriftensammlungen», https://www.bk.admin.ch/bk/de/home/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-102980.html, besucht am 20.3.2025 (zit. Medienmitteilung vom 30.10.2024).

Protokoll der vorberatenden Kommission des Ständerates der Sitzung vom 28.5.1976 zum Geschäft 75.018 Bundesgesetz über die politischen Rechte (zit. Protokoll KOM-SR 1976).