What is the "double yes"?

The "double yes" was introduced in Liechtenstein in 1987. The special procedural feature of this voting procedure is that voters are presented with several questions on the same ballot paper.

The "double yes" is used if several initiatives on the same subject are submitted at the same time or if Parliament submits a counter-proposal to an initiative on its own initiative.

Voters are asked for each proposal whether they wish to accept or reject it. Voters who approve all proposals can also indicate which proposal they prefer.

The "double yes" thus gives voters the opportunity to express their ideas in a differentiated manner. They can approve one proposal and reject the other. However, they can also support both proposals or reject both. They can also decide which draft they prefer if they support both proposals.

Determining the result of the vote

The absolute majority is determined separately for each proposal. Blank and invalid ballot papers are not taken into account when determining the absolute majority. This also applies to unanswered individual questions.

If both proposals achieve an absolute majority, the ballot papers with multiple "yes" votes are only allocated to the proposal that is preferred in the supplementary question. The proposal that receives the majority of votes as a result of this second count is adopted.

Ballot papers with multiple yes votes that do not answer the supplementary question or do not answer it clearly are not taken into account in any second count.

Why is there a "double yes"?

The "double yes" increases the choice available to voters. Until its introduction, Parliament was able to use the counter-proposal as a very targeted means of countering popular initiatives. This was because the Yes votes were regularly split between the initiative text and the counter-proposal in such a way that no variant achieved an absolute majority. The introduction of the "double yes" made it possible to eliminate this effect of the counter-proposal, which tended to distort the will of the people and, in the opinion of the Constitutional Court, was unconstitutional.

In Liechtenstein, the "double yes" was used for the first time in March 2003, when the two initiative petitions to amend the Constitution of H.S.H. Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein and H.S.H. Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and the initiative committee "Constitutional Peace" were put to the vote.