Remarks from the text of the Federal Act on the Student Representative Organisations (HSG – Students’ Union Act 2014, in force as of March 24, 2021)

Section 45 (2) HSG: “Voters who want to exercise their right to vote by sending back the sealed voting card to the election committee of the Austrian Students’ Union (postal voting) shall enclose the completed ballot paper in the respective ballot paper envelopes. They shall close the ballot paper envelopes and put them in the voting card. After that, the voters shall declare in lieu of an oath by their personal signature that they have completed the ballot paper personally, unobserved, and uninfluenced. Following that, the voters shall seal the voting card and submit it to the election committee of the Austrian Students’ Union in due time so that they receive it no later than 18:00 on the second election day. Otherwise, they cannot be considered.”

Section 45 (3) HSG: “Casting a vote by means of postal voting is null and invalid if

1. the declaration in lieu of an oath on the voting card has not been made by, or there is evidence that it has not been made by, the person entitled to vote,
2. the cover does not contain a voting card or contains more than one voting cards, respectively,
3. the voting card does not contain a ballot paper envelope,
4. the cover or the voting card contains more ballot paper envelopes than the voter is entitled to complete,
5. the examination of integrity has revealed that the voting card is so damaged that it cannot be ruled out that the ballot paper envelope inside has been previously improperly taken out or put back,
6. the data or the signature of the voter is no longer distinguishable, or
7. the voting card has not been received by the competent election committee by 18:00 on the second election day.”