(1) Official ballot sheets shall be used in Federal Presidential elections.
(2) The official ballot sheets shall contain first names, family names and surnames of the candidates of the officially published nomination proposals in the sequence mentioned in Section 9, paragraph 1, as well as boxes featuring circles, otherwise they shall contain the information as shown in Schedule 2. If the Federal Election Commission has published the names of female candidates, the official ballot sheets shall be adapted to also show the female form of the function "Federal President". The official ballot sheets shall be prepared exclusively by order of the Federal Election Commission.
(3) The official ballot sheets for second round postal voting shall contain a box for entering the family name or surname of the candidate, as well as any other distinguishing features, the earliest date for casting the vote, and other information as shown in Schedule 6, including information about how a voter living abroad can find out whether a second round of voting will occur and which candidates have been selected. In case the District election board published the name of a female candidate, the given text of “Anlage 6” of the ballot sheet has to be adapted accordingly.
(4) If on the thirty-first day before Election Day the Federal Election Commission has concluded that only one candidate will stand for Federal President, the official ballot sheets shall be modified to contain the questions: "Shall NN hold the office of Federal President?" or "Shall NN hold the office of Federal President for a further term?", and below the words "yes" and "no", each next to a circle, and shall otherwise contain the information as shown in Schedule 3.
(5) The size of official ballot sheets depends on the number of candidates and should be at least DIN A5 (210 x 148 mm). On ballot sheets pursuant to paragraph 2, boxes and letters of the same size shall be used for all candidates. The colour of all letters shall be black, separation lines of boxes and circles shall be printed with equal line width.
(6) Precinct election boards, in Vienna through the provincial election boards, municipal and precinct election boards outside of Vienna through their district administrative authorities and municipalities, and the chartered cities directly, shall be furnished by the Federal Election Commission with official ballot sheets corresponding to the final count of persons entitled to vote in the election board area, plus a reserve of 15%, in case of a second round of 25%. A further reserve of 5% shall be provided to district administration authorities in case of additional needs by election boards on Election Day. Official ballot sheets shall be supplied against receipts of delivery in duplicate; one copy is intended for supplier, the second for recipient.
(7) Unauthorised procurement, production, sale or distribution of official ballot sheets, or ballot sheets identical or similar to the official ballot sheets, shall constitute an administrative offence punishable, unless an action to be punished more severely has also been committed, with a fine of up to 218 Euros levied by the district administrative authority, and in case of non-payment with a custodial sanction of up to two weeks. Such official ballot sheets or ballot sheets identical or similar to official ballot sheets, produced without authorisation, shall be declared invalid, regardless of ownership.
(8) Putting any marks on official ballot sheets to be handed over during an election shall also be punishable pursuant to paragraph 7.
