Votes Code of conduct for signature collections meets with approval
The code of conduct presented by the Federal Chancellery for collecting signatures for initiatives and referendums has met with a positive response. It is intended to put a stop to the forgeries that have become known as "signature scams".
30.10.2025, 15:12
SDA
The responses of the 56 participants in the consultation will now be incorporated into the drafting of the definitive code, as the Federal Chancellery announced on Thursday. The aim is to establish good practice in the collection of signatures, which was developed at four round tables with Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi.
Almost all cantons as well as political parties, umbrella organizations of municipalities and cities, business associations, initiative committees, collection organizations and other stakeholders responded to the consultation.
According to the Federal Chancellery, the evaluation showed that two thirds of respondents approved of the principle of voluntary and legally non-binding self-regulation. In some cases, approval is linked to adjustments, for example in the role of the authorities, the standards for collection organizations or the distinction between voluntary and paid collection activities.
The dissenting voices deny the need for action and reject a code of conduct in principle. Another part of them calls for legal regulations.
Code ready by the end of the year
Overall, according to the Federal Chancellery, the consultation shows that a sufficient number of stakeholders welcome a code of conduct. The Federal Chancellery is now finalizing the final version. It intends to complete this work before the end of the year. Those affected can then sign up to the code.
The code of conduct is one of several measures to combat the phenomenon of "signature fraud". The Federal Chancellery has tightened controls on counting and introduced a monitoring system for municipalities and cantons for ongoing signature collections. It is also working with the scientific community to develop methods to combat fraud. Initiative and referendum committees receive new guidelines.
Initial successes
The Federal Chancellery is examining whether all of this is sufficient from the perspective of the integrity of the signature collections and the low-threshold nature of the collections. According to the information provided, the reports received in the monitoring system since the beginning of 2025 indicate that the measures are working. The Federal Chancellery reserves the right to propose legislative measures to the Federal Council if necessary.
To date, the Federal Chancellery has filed four criminal complaints regarding irregularities in the collection of signatures. The criminal proceedings are ongoing. The Federal Chancellery will not provide any further information due to official secrecy and in the interests of the investigations.
In the autumn session, the National Council rejected a ban on paid signature collections and is instead relying on the measures taken by the Federal Chancellery.
