Issuing a voting card
(1) The application for the issuing of a voting card has to be submitted in written or oral form to the municipality by which the person entitled to vote has been entered in the electoral roll, stating the reason as specified in § 38, para 1. Applications by telephone are not permissible. The application has to be filed with the authority in charge in writing not later than on the fourth day before the election day. The application can be filed orally not later than 12:00 noon on the second day before the election day. The application can be filed in writing until the latter time if it is possible to hand over the voting card to a person authorized by the applicant. Abroad, the issuing and handing over of a voting card can also be applied for by way of an Austrian official representation. In the case of an application filed orally, prima facie evidence of the identity of the applicant is to be presented by means of a document except for the case that the applicant is known to the authorities. In the case of a written application, unless the applicant is known to the authority or has affixed to the application, in the case of electronic submission, a qualified electronic signature, prima facie evidence of the identity can also be presented in other ways, in particular by stating the passport number or by submitting a copy of official photo identification or another document. The municipality is authorized to have the passport number verified by a passport authority, and photo identification or other documents by the authority competent for issuing such documents. In case the municaplity has been equipped with the necessary technical means, it is entitled to verify the passport number using the electoral roll in accordance with § 22 of the law on passports from 1992, as published in the legal gazette (BGBl. #839/1992). In the cases set out in § 38, para 2, the application has to contain an explicit request for a visit by a special elections authority according to § 73, para 1, as well as the exact location where the applicant expects this visit. In the case of people in public custody, the application has to include a confirmation of the custody by an authority.
(2) Persons entitled to vote who have their main place of residence abroad and who are registered in the voters’ index (§ 2a of the Voters’ Index Law 1973) are to be informed by mail by the municipality by which they were registered in the voters’ index of the possibility of exercising the right to vote by means of postal voting without delay after the announcement of the National Council elections, provided their address has been entered in the voters’ index. Furthermore, they are to be informed of the possibilities of filing an application, where applicable also about filing an application on the Internet. The information can be sent by e-mail, if an e-mail address is known to the municipality. Persons who have applied for the ex-officio issuance of a voting card according to § 2a, para 6, or § 9, para 4 of the Voters’ Index Law 1973 are to be sent voting cards as soon as the corresponding preprints and the official ballot papers are available to the municipality.
(3) The voting card has to be produced as a sealable envelope and is to contain the prints set out in Schedule 3. It has to be ensured, by means of appropriate technical measures, that the personal data in respect of the person entitled to vote, in particular that person’s signature, is covered by a closable flap before the voting card is forwarded to the district elections authority and that after closing the voting card it is possible, by means of appropriate perforation, to make visible to the district elections authority the personal data of the voter and the voter’s declaration in lieu of an oath without opening the voting card.
In accordance with the technical properties of the voting card, the flap is to feature printed text containing notices on how to use the voting card for casting a vote by means of postal voting and on how to forward the voting card. The municaplity may print a barcode or QR-code on the paper ballot envelope. Voting cards for people elegible to vote residing abroad have to be identified accordingly. Voting cards, issued by means of automatic data processing, may be furnished with an offical signature in accordance to §§19 and 20 of the Federal Act on Provisions Facilitating Electronic Communications with Public Bodies (E-Government Act – E-GovG) as published in the Federal Law Gazette BGBl. I Nr. 10/2004 (§19 para 3 second phrase of this act shall not be applicable). The forms for voting cards have to be provided to the authorities in charge in accordance with needs assessment which are to be conducted on a regular basis.
(4) When an application for the issuing of a voting card is accepted, an official ballot paper and a sealable ballot paper envelope, showing the number of the provincial constituency, have to be handed over together with the voting card. These have to be put inside the envelope described in para 3. The envelope has to be handed over to the applicant. The applicant has to store the envelope carefully until the casting of the vote.
Together with the envelope, a list in accordance with § 49 para 8 as well as a list pursuant to § 106 para 7 is is to be handed over. If the voting card is sent by mail, the envelope containing the voting card is to be marked with the notice "Voting card for the National Council elections XXXX".
(5) The following applies to the handing over or delivery of voting cards applied for:
1. If the voting card is handed over personally, the applicant shall sign a confirmation of receipt. If the applicant is unable to do so, a note is to be recorded on file.
2. For patients in hospitals and nursing homes (§ 72), if the voting card is sent by mail by means of a registered letter, the voting card is to be addressed exclusively to the recipient personally. In that case, the letter is to be marked with the notice "Not to authorized mail recipients".
3. If voting cards are delivered by messenger to the persons referred to in item 2, the confirmation of receipt must be personally signed by the patient. If the applicant is unable to do so, a note is to be recorded on file.
4. In the case of applicants not referred to in item 2, the voting card, if sent by mail, is to be sent by registered letter unless the voting card was applied for orally, the electronically filed application carried a qualified electronic signature, or the voting card was issued ex officio upon application according to § 2a, para 6, or § 9, para 4 of the Voters’ Index Law 1973.
5. If voting cards are delivered to persons not referred to in item 2 by courier or by way of an Austrian official representation, § 16, paras 1 and 2 of the Service of Documents Act is to be applied by analogy, with the proviso that a voting card can also be handed over to persons entitled to vote who have not yet reached the age of 18. The voting card can be handed over without any evidence, if it was applied for orally or the electronically filed application carried a qualified electronic signature.
6. Voting cards applied for in writing, which are personally collected by the applicant, may be handed over by the municipality only in return for a confirmation of receipt. If the applicant is unable to provide such a confirmation, a note is to be recorded on file. If a voting card applied for in writing is handed over to a person authorized by the applicant, that person must confirm receipt of the voting card.
7. A courier who delivers a voting card used to cast a vote by means of postal voting is not permitted to immediately collect the voting card.
(6) In every case, confirmations of the receipt of voting cards handed over by courier or by way of an Austrian official representation are to be delivered to the municipalities that issued the voting card. Confirmations of receipt submitted to Austrian official representations are permitted to be forwarded electronically. Applications filed in writing, confirmations of receipt, notes on file and a list of applications received electronically are to be submitted to the municipal elections authority after expiry of the period specified in para 1. The municipal elections authority has to enclose the documents submitted to it in the election file of the municipality.
(7) The municipality must not issue duplicates for lost voting cards. Voting cards that have become unusable but have not yet been sealed and for which the declaration in lieu of an oath has not yet been signed can be returned to the municipality. In that case, the municipality can issue a duplicate after having received the voting card. In such a case, a voting card that has become unusable is to be marked with a corresponding note and submitted to the municipal elections authority. The municipal elections authority has to enclose the voting card in the election file of the municipality.
(8) The municipal elections authorities shall ensure that mail marked as voting cards (para 4, last sentence) that has been deposited with the locally competent postal agencies is collected at the time when the respective postal agency is last closed before the election day and is kept ready to be handed over to the applicant on the election day. At that time, mail marked as voting cards (para 4, last sentence) and deposited with the postal agency but not collected is to be separated and kept ready to be handed over to a person delegated by the municipal elections authority. The municipal elections authorities shall inform the Federal Ministry of the Interior of any mail marked as voting cards (para 4, last sentence) kept in their area of responsibility. The Federal Ministry of the Interior shall take appropriate measures, e.g. establish a telephone hotline, so that applicants can be informed of the place where mail marked as voting cards (para 4, last sentence) is kept. Voting cards deposited with Austrian official representations that are not collected are to be destroyed after the election day. The municipality that issued such a voting card is to be informed thereof electronically.
(9) A person entitled to vote has to be informed by the municipality as soon as possible if his or her application for the issuing of a voting card was not allowed.
