The story of the ballot paper

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The information that appears on the ballot papers is prepared at the Merkur printing firm in Langenthal. It is sent there by the Bern cantonal authorities, which checks the information with the political parties. Thomas Hodel

The ballot papers are laid out on aluminium sheets stretched over cylinders, which serve as templates on the printing presses. Thomas Hodel

A ballot document consists of 32 pages. A total of 780,000 documents are printed in 48 hours, requiring 50 rolls of paper, each of which weighs one tonne. Thomas Hodel

The quality is checked during printing. Thomas Hodel

The ballot documents - in A2 format - are piled up and sent to Schlatter book binders near Bern. Thomas Hodel

The loose pages are glued and cut into A5 format. Thomas Hodel

Piles of ballot papers are then distributed across the canton to various places to be packaged and sent out. Thomas Hodel

Ballot papers are put in envelopes together with the parties' vote documentation. Thomas Hodel

The prepared envelopes are then sent to the Swiss post office. Thomas Hodel

Inside the post office at Bern-Bümpliz. In all, 75,000 households in the Bern region will receive official ballot envelopes and vote information. Thomas Hodel

In Bern, 100 postmen are responsible for distributing the 50 tonnes of voting documents over a five-day period. Thomas Hodel

The envelope arrives 15-20 days before election day. Thomas Hodel

The citizen is free to elect their candidate of choice. Thomas Hodel

The ballot paper is dropped into a voting box. Thomas Hodel

Ballot boxes are taken by taxi and other means of transport to the Weissenstein sports hall in Bern. Thomas Hodel

Around 8,000 ballot papers are counted on election day. Thomas Hodel

Around 300 people, including many volunteers from among the general public, help to count votes. Thomas Hodel

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Every four years politicians and parties compete for the attention of the Swiss public in parliamentary elections. To cast their vote, citizens must use a standard ballot paper. But where do these come from and how are they produced? 

In canton Bern, around 800,000 ballot papers are produced in the space of just a few weeks. When a voter receives their envelope in their letter box, little will they realise how much work is involved in producing this simple, standard document.

The final ballot paper and vote documentation is a perfect example of team work between the Bern cantonal chancellery, printers, book binders, packing firms and the postal service.