2019 federal elections – Confederation and cantons launch joint website
Bern, 03.10.2018 - The elections to the National Council and the Council of States will be held in just over a year’s time. In cooperation with the cantons, the Confederation is now launching the website ch.ch/en/elections2019, giving voters a wide range of practical information on the elections in an easy-to-understand form. Besides text, there are also videos – some in sign language – step-by-step explanations and an interactive election calendar with the key dates and deadlines.
How can I stand for election to the National Council? When do I receive my voting papers? Is there a second round in the elections to the Council of States in my canton? These and many other questions are answered on the website ch.ch/en/elections2019, which provides official information on the elections on 20 October 2019. The user-friendly site contains interactive graphics, illustrations and videos in addition to written text.
Special focus is placed on people with specific information needs. Swiss citizens living abroad, for example, have to observe specific rules relating to the parliamentary elections. All this information is provided on ch.ch/en/elections2019. People with special needs are also able to find the information they require on the site; for example, there are videos in sign language.
How to vote and election results
In a first phase, the website is addressed primarily at potential candidates and at people with a particular interest in the elections. For example, it publishes the Federal Chancellery guidelines for candidate groups in the 2019 National Council elections. Besides the information provided for candidates, a detailed explanation is given of how the elections are organised. On 27 September 2018 the Federal Council approved a circular letter to all the cantonal governments containing instructions and information for preparing the 2019 National Council elections. This is also published on ch.ch/en/elections2019, along with a wide range of other information on the election.
A second phase, which will be launched in spring 2019, will focus on providing practical information for voters. Who is eligible to vote? How can I ensure that my ballot is valid? What voting papers do I receive? There is just one question that ch.ch/en/elections2019 does not provide an answer for: who to vote for. A politically neutral election platform cannot make this decision for voters.
Election Day itself marks the beginning of the third phase, when the results of the elections to the National Council and the Council of States will be published. Information will be provided on any second ballots which need to be held for the Council of States, on the candidates who have won seats, and on how the seats are distributed among the parties or party groupings. Statistics and analyses will be published following the elections.
The Federal Chancellery produces most of the ch.ch/en/elections2019 content with the help of the cantons. Statistics and analyses of the election results are provided by the Federal Statistical Office. The Confederation and the cantons publish this information on the Swiss authorities' online platform ch.ch. This was also done for the 2015 elections, and it generated a lot of public interest. As was the case in 2015, the web content is available in five languages - German, French, Italian, Romansh and English.
The ch.ch portal
The ch.ch portal forms part of the E-Government Switzerland strategy. It is managed by the Federal Chancellery, and its popularity continues to grow: in 2017 it was called up almost 13 million times . A framework agreement sets out the aims of ch.ch and how it is funded. The provision of information under ch.ch/en/elections2019 is financed via the ordinary ch.ch budget, thereby generating no extra costs.
Address for enquiries
Ursula Eggenberger
Head, Communications Section
+41 58 462 37 63
ursula.eggenberger@bk.admin.ch
Publisher
Federal Chancellery
https://www.bk.admin.ch/bk/en/home.html
