The Federal Supreme Court revokes the 2016 vote on the popular initiative "For marriage and family - against the marriage penalty". The Federal Council's incomplete and non-transparent information would have violated the freedom of those entitled to vote. Given the narrow rejection of the bill and the seriousness of the irregularities, it is possible that the result of the vote could have been different.
The initiative was rejected by 50.8% of those who voted and accepted by a large majority of the cantons. The information provided by the Federal Council showed, among other things, that around 80,000 two-earner married couples and numerous pensioner couples were affected by the disadvantageous position in terms of direct federal tax compared to unmarried couples, which is referred to as the "marriage penalty". In 2018, the Federal Council informed in a media release that, based on corrected estimates, around 454,000 two-earner married couples were affected. Several private individuals ultimately appealed to the Federal Supreme Court on the grounds that their political rights had been violated.
The judgments (1C_315/2018, 1C_316/2018, 1C_329/2018, 1C_331/2018, 1C_335/2018, 1C_337/2018, 1C_338/2018, 1C_339/2018 and 1C_347/2018) shall be published on www.bger.ch once the written reasons have been submitted. Film footage was also published for consultation.
The press release of the Federal Supreme Court can be found here and that of the Federal Council can be downloaded here.
