National council members want to force the federal government to use simpler language: no one should be able to understand Bahnhof while voting

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Read this article in simple language.

Politics that everyone understands. Green Land Councilor Manuela Weichelt (56) wants to make democracy more accessible. Today, many people with intellectual disabilities are excluded from elections and voting – because they are not allowed to vote due to lack of judgment or because the whole thing is too complicated for them. By doing so, Switzerland is violating the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which it ratified a decade ago.

Weichelt wants to reduce the obstacles – at least a little. She demands that in the future the federal government will translate important information about the political system into simple language. This is a special writing style characterized by simple words and very short sentences. The goal: to make information as accessible as possible.

Voting booklet in simple language

So far, unlike the authorities in Germany, for example, the federal government has provided hardly any information in plain language. There is a brochure that simply explains how national and state elections work.

That’s not enough, says Weichelt. She wants the federal government to use simple language much more often in the future. It must be examined whether, for example, the red voting booklet that arrives in households before every voting Sunday can also be translated. In addition to SP and Green politicians, centrist and FDP representatives also support the initiative.

“Many people would benefit from it”

Weichelt is on the board of Insieme Switzerland, the umbrella organization of parent associations for people with intellectual disabilities. However, she emphasizes that her demand does not only affect people with disabilities. A study about fifteen years ago concluded that approximately 800,000 people have difficulty reading and understanding even simple texts despite compulsory education. A more recent estimate does not exist.

“Many people would benefit from it,” the Landraad member is convinced. She cannot understand the Federal Council’s concerns about the easy language. It does not want to simplify the explanations of vote because there is a fear that, among other things, the legal requirements in terms of objectivity and completeness will no longer be able to meet the legal requirements. In addition, all eligible voters should receive the same information. A few years ago, the National Council also wanted nothing to do with the easy language.

Green politician Weichelt is not letting go. “The federal government should write in such a way that even a sixth grader can understand it,” she says. The demand for simple explanations is certainly present, and not only from people with disabilities.

Source:Blick