respondent's sex (own statement)
1 = male
2 = female
3 = indeterminate/other

how attached the respondent feels to the canton of Aargau
1 = 0 (not attached at all)
2 = 1
3 = 2
4 = 3
5 = 4 (strongly attached)

respondent's interest in Swiss politics
1 = not interested at all
2 = rather uninterested
3 = rather interested
4 = very interested

respondent's participation status at the current ballot (blank votes count as 'participated')
1 = not participated
2 = participated

whether or not indecision was a reason for the respondent to abstain from voting (only non-voters)
1 = is not true
2 = is true

respondent's voting decision on the federal proposal "Für eine starke Pflege (Pflegeinitiative)" (only voters)
1 = yes (affirmative vote)
2 = no (negative vote)
3 = empty (blank vote) or not voted

importance the respondent attaches to the federal proposal "Für eine starke Pflege (Pflegeinitiative)"
1 = 0 (not important at all)
2 = 1
3 = 2
4 = 3
5 = 4
6 = 5
7 = 6
8 = 7
9 = 8
10 = 9
11 = 10 (very important)

whether or not the respondent would be personally affected by the adoption of the federal proposal "Für eine starke Pflege (Pflegeinitiative)"
1 = no
2 = yes, for the better
3 = yes, for the worse

respondent's information level on the federal proposal "Für eine starke Pflege (Pflegeinitiative)"
1 = 0 (not informed at all)
2 = 1
3 = 2
4 = 3
5 = 4
6 = 5
7 = 6
8 = 7
9 = 8
10 = 9
11 = 10 (very well informed)

level of difficulty in understanding the federal proposal "Für eine starke Pflege (Pflegeinitiative)" for the respondent (only voters)
1 = rather easy
2 = rather difficult

respondent's time of decision concerning the federal proposal "Für eine starke Pflege (Pflegeinitiative)" (only voters)
1 = from the very beginning
2 = during the voting campaign
3 = at the last moment

respondent's agreement to the pro-argument "By having the parliament decide on the (re)election of federal judges every six years, the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches is violated." in favor of the federal proposal "Bestim
1 = strongly disagree
2 = rather disagree
3 = rather agree
4 = fully agree

importance the respondent attaches to the pro-argument "By having the parliament decide on the (re)election of federal judges every six years, the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches is violated." in favor of the federal prop
1 = irrelevant
2 = rather unimportant
3 = rather important
4 = very important

respondent's answer to the skill question "Who has elected the members of the Federal Supreme Court so far?" about the federal proposal "Bestimmung der Bundesrichterinnen und Bundesrichter im Losverfahren (Justiz-Initiative)" (2nd answer is correct; only v
1 = The Federal Council
2 = The Federal Assembly
3 = The Federal Supreme Court itself
4 = The people

respondent's answer to the skill question "The Justice Initiative demands that from now…" about the federal proposal "Bestimmung der Bundesrichterinnen und Bundesrichter im Losverfahren (Justiz-Initiative)" (2nd answer is correct; only voters)
1 = …federal judges may no longer belong to any party.
2 = …a random procedure should decide on the election of professionally and personally suitable candidates.
3 = …federal judges be allowed to make anonymous decisions in exceptional cases in order to guarantee their own security (

respondent's answer to the skill question "The current election procedure for federal judges ensures that…" about the federal proposal "Bestimmung der Bundesrichterinnen und Bundesrichter im Losverfahren (Justiz-Initiative)" (4th answer is correct; only
1 = …the different genders, political views and official languages are all equally represented.
2 = …candidates do not have to have any party ties to get elected.
3 = …candidates all have an equal chance of being elected.
4 = …incumbents must stand for re-election every six years.

respondent's answer to the skill question "When do the changes to the Covid-19 Act now being voted on go into effect?" about the federal proposal "Änderung vom 19. März 2021 des Bundesgesetzes über die gesetzlichen Grundlagen für Verordnungen des Bunde
1 = They are already in force.
2 = They become/became effective on the voting Sunday of November 28, 2021.
3 = They become effective one month after the date of voting.
4 = They will become effective on January 1, 2022.

respondent's answer to the skill question "What exactly does proof of a valid Swiss Covid certificate entail? That the person in question…" about the federal proposal "Änderung vom 19. März 2021 des Bundesgesetzes über die gesetzlichen Grundlagen für
1 = …has been vaccinated against COVID-19.
2 = …has been vaccinated against COVID-19 or has been in quarantine for a certain period of time.
3 = …has been vaccinated against COVID-19 or has tested negative.
4 = …has been vaccinated against, tested negative for, or recovered from COVID-19.

respondent's answer to the skill question "What happens if the changes to the Covid-19 Act are rejected?" about the federal proposal "Änderung vom 19. März 2021 des Bundesgesetzes über die gesetzlichen Grundlagen für Verordnungen des Bundesrates zur Be
2 = Those provisions/amendments adopted by the Federal Assembly on March 19, 2021, cease to apply immediately.
3 = Those provisions/amendments adopted by the Federal Assembly on March 19, 2021, expire on March 19, 2022
4 = The entire Covid-19 Act will expire no later than the end of the year.

whether or not the respondent used free newspapers and free online journalism / news sites to learn about the federal proposals (only voters)
1 = not used
2 = used

how often the respondent discussed the federal proposals with acquaintances
1 = never
2 = rarely
3 = now and then
4 = frequently

respondent's primary source of political information (on- vs. offline)
1 = online, i.e. via the Internet
2 = offline, for example via print media, television or radio
3 = on- as well as offline to about the same extent
4 = I never inform myself about politics

whether the respondent wants as many fellow human beings as possible to be vaccinated
1 = no, absolutely not
2 = rather no
3 = don't care
4 = rather yes
5 = yes, absolutely

respondent's COVID-19 vaccination status
1 = no, I do not want to be vaccinated
2 = no, I am still undecided
3 = no, but I would like to be vaccinated
4 = yes, I am vaccinated once
5 = yes, I am vaccinated twice

respondent's assessment of the current political measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland
1 = go way too little far
2 = tend to go too little far
3 = are appropriate
4 = tend to go too far
5 = go way too far

respondent's assessment of the federal COVID-19 crisis management so far
1 = very happy
2 = rather unhappy
3 = rather happy

the political party the respondent feels closest to his/her own political stance
1 = SVP
2 = SP
3 = FDP
4 = Mitte
5 = Grüne
6 = GLP
7 = EVP
8 = custom answer
9 = none

respondent's left-right self-positioning
1 = 0 (far left)
2 = 1
3 = 2
4 = 3
5 = 4
6 = 5 (middle)
7 = 6
8 = 7
9 = 8
10 = 9
11 = 10 (far right)

respondent's trust in the cantonal government of Aargau
1 = 0 (no trust at all)
2 = 1
3 = 2
4 = 3
5 = 4
6 = 5
7 = 6
8 = 7
9 = 8
10 = 9
11 = 10 (complete trust)

respondent's preferred term of office for federal judges
1 = six-year term of office, unlimited re-election
2 = six-year term of office, re-election up to a maximum of 70 years of age
3 = one-time term of office limited to 70 years of age
4 = unlimited term of office

respondent's preferred level of Switzerland opening up to foreign countries
1 = 1 (opens more to the outside)
2 = 2
3 = 3
4 = 4
5 = 5 (closes off more)

respondent's preferred level of equality of opportunities for foreigners in relation to Swiss nationals
1 = 1 (equal opportunities)
2 = 2
3 = 3
4 = 4
5 = 5 (better opportunities for Swiss)

respondent's attitude towards the opposition between an extended social welfare state and more individual responsibility
1 = 1 (stronger welfare state)
2 = 2
3 = 3
4 = 4
5 = 5 (higher self-responsibility)

respondent's attitude towards the opposition between state intervention and market competition
1 = 1 (stronger state control)
2 = 2
3 = 3
4 = 4
5 = 5 (more corporate freedom)

respondent's attitude towards the continuation of e-voting for Swiss abroad in the canton of Aargau (only online respondents)
1 = clearly against
2 = rather against
3 = rather in favor
4 = clearly in favor

respondent's marital status (own statement)
1 = single
2 = married
3 = widowed
4 = divorced
5 = in civil union
6 = dissolved civil union

respondent's denomination or religious community
1 = none/undenominational
2 = Protestant/Reformed/Evangelical
3 = Catholic/Christian Catholic/Old Catholic
4 = Jewish
5 = Muslim
6 = other

respondent's highest level of education
1 = no graduation
2 = compulsory schooling
3 = apprenticeship, commercial diploma
4 = academic high school, Federal Vocational Baccalaureate, graduate/technical secondary school
5 = higher vocational training, higher vocational school
6 = technical college/polytechnic
7 = university, ETH

respondent's current employment situation
1 = self-employed/freelancer
2 = employee in the company of the own family
3 = employee
4 = apprentice
5 = student
6 = pensioner
7 = unemployed
8 = inactive person with disability
9 = housewife/househusband
10 = other inactive person

respondent's former employment situation (only economically inactive online respondents)
1 = never had a job
2 = self-employed/freelancer
3 = employee in the company of the own family
4 = employee
5 = apprentice
6 = something else

respondent's current employment level (only economically active persons)
1 = part-time employed less than 50 %
2 = part-time employed 50–69 %
3 = part-time employed 70–89 %
4 = full-time employed 90 % or more

respondent's professional position (only employees)
1 = normal employee
2 = employee with management tasks/trainer
3 = directorial employee

respondent's occupational sector (only economically active persons)
1 = private sector
2 = public sector
3 = non-profit sector
4 = mixed-economy sector

size of the company the respondent works for (only economically active persons)
1 = 1–9
2 = 10–49
3 = 50–249
4 = 250–999
5 = 1'000+

sector of the company the respondent works for (only economically active persons)
1 = manufacturing of products (industry)
2 = retail and wholesale trade
3 = health and social services
4 = services such as consulting, auditing, research and development
5 = construction sector
6 = education and teaching
7 = services such as travel agency, security service, employment agency, caretaker, etc.
8 = financial services (banking, insurance, etc.)
9 = hotel and catering industry
10 = transport and dispatch services
11 = public administration, defence and social security
12 = agriculture, forestry and fishing
13 = personal services (e.g. hairdresser) and member organisations (e.g. religious associations)
14 = information and communication
15 = custom answer

respondent's housing situation
1 = tenant
2 = owner
3 = other (e.g. free or official residence)

the respondent's citizenship(s) at birth
1 = Switzerland (CH)
2 = Switzerland (CH) plus other(s) ("dual citizen")
3 = other(s)

whether the respondent's parents were born in Switzerland or abroad
1 = yes, both in Switzerland
2 = no, one parent abroad
3 = no, both parents abroad

respondent's monthly gross household income
1 = up to CHF 3000
2 = CHF 3001–6000
3 = CHF 6001–9000
4 = CHF 9001–12000
5 = CHF 12001–15000
6 = over CHF 15000

how well the respondent gets along with his income
1 = not at all well
2 = not so well
3 = pretty well
4 = very well

respondent's personal share of gross household income (only persons not living alone)
1 = much less than half or nothing
2 = less than half
3 = about half
4 = more than half
5 = much more than half or everything

the channel through which the respondent answered the questionnaire
1 = online
2 = print

the way the questionnaire was provisioned to the respondent
1 = online and print simultaneously
2 = online first, print only later with reminder letter
3 = online only

respondent's questionnaire completion status
1 = finished without interruption
2 = finished after interruption
3 = unfinished

dummy value indicating whether or not the respondent received a postal reminder
1 = received no reminder
2 = received reminder

respondent's district of residence
1 = Aarau
2 = Baden
3 = Bremgarten
4 = Brugg
5 = Kulm
6 = Laufenburg
7 = Lenzburg
8 = Muri
9 = Rheinfelden
10 = Zofingen
11 = Zurzach

lower age limit of the municipal subscription of the "easyvote" booklet
1 = none (municipality has not subscribed to the "easyvote" booklet)
2 = 18
3 = 19
4 = 20
5 = 21
6 = 22
7 = 23
8 = 24
9 = 25

Spatial typology by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) of respondent's place of residence: Municipality size class ("Gemeinde-Grössenklasse")
1 = < 1,000 inhabitants
2 = 1000–1999 inhabitants
3 = 2000–4999 inhabitants
4 = 5000–9999 inhabitants
5 = 10000–19999 inhabitants
6 = 20000–49999 inhabitants
7 = 50000–99999 inhabitants
8 = ≥ 100000 inhabitants

Spatial typology by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) of respondent's place of residence: Space with urban character ("Raum mit städtischem Charakter 2012")
1 = rural municipality without urban character
2 = core municipality outside agglomerations
3 = multiply oriented municipality
4 = agglomeration belt municipality
5 = agglomeration core municipality (secondary core)
6 = agglomeration core municipality (main core)
7 = agglomeration core municipality (core city)

Spatial typology by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) of respondent's place of residence: Agglomeration size class 2012 ("Agglomerationsgrössenklasse 2012")
1 = no agglomeration affiliation
2 = < 50000 inhabitants
3 = 50000–99999 inhabitants
4 = 100000–249999 inhabitants
5 = 250000–499999 inhabitants
6 = ≥ 500000 inhabitants

Spatial typology by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) of respondent's place of residence: (Statistical) cities 2012 ("(Statistische) Städte 2012")
1 = city
2 = no city

Spatial typology by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) of respondent's place of residence: Eurostat's degree of urbanisation 2011 (DEGURBA)
1 = thinly populated area
2 = intermediate density area
3 = densely populated area

Spatial typology by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) of respondent's place of residence: Municipality typology 2012 in 9 categories ("Gemeindetypologie 2012 (9 Kategorien)")
1 = rural peripheral municipality
2 = rural centrally located municipality
3 = rural central municipality
4 = periurban municipality of low density
5 = periurban municipality of medium density
6 = periurban municipality of high density
7 = urban municipality of a small or outside of an agglomeration
8 = urban municipality of a medium-sized agglomeration
9 = urban municipality of a large agglomeration

Spatial typology by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) of respondent's place of residence: Municipality typology 2012 in 25 categories ("Gemeindetypologie 2012 (25 Kategorien)")
1 = rural peripheral mixed municipality
2 = rural peripheral agricultural municipality
3 = rural peripheral tourism municipality
4 = rural centrally located service municipality
5 = rural centrally located industrial municipality
6 = rural centrally located agricultural municipality
7 = service municipality of a rural centre
8 = industrial municipality of a rural centre
9 = tourism municipality of a rural centre
10 = periurban low density service municipality
11 = periurban low density industrial municipality
12 = periurban low density agricultural municipality
13 = periurban medium density service municipality
14 = periurban medium density industrial municipality
15 = periurban high density service municipality
16 = periurban high density industrial municipality
17 = urban service municipality of a small or outside of an agglomeration
18 = urban industrial municipality of a small or outside of an agglomeration
19 = urban tourism municipality of a small or outside of an agglomeration
20 = urban residential municipality of a medium-sized agglomeration
21 = urban workplace municipality of a medium-sized agglomeration
22 = core city of a medium-sized agglomeration
23 = urban residential municipality of a large agglomeration
24 = urban workplace municipality of a large agglomeration
25 = core city of a large agglomeration

Spatial typology by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) of respondent's place of residence: City/rural typology 2012 ("Stadt/Land-Typologie 2012")
1 = rural
2 = intermediary
3 = urban

dummy value indicating whether or not respondent is working (additional routing question for students and pensioners; only online respondents)
1 = yes (working)
2 = no (not working)

type of the ballot
1 = referendum
2 = election
3 = both_referendum_and_election

respondent's sex (official cantonal register information)
1 = male
2 = female
3 = indeterminate

dummy value indicating whether or not the respondent's own statement about his/her sex matches the official cantonal register information
1 = mismatch
2 = match

whether or not the respondent received at least one COVID-19 vaccination
1 = no
2 = yes

respondent's age group (derived from age)
1 = 18–29 years
2 = 30–39 years
3 = 40–49 years
4 = 50–59 years
5 = 60–69 years
6 = 70+ years

respondent's left-right self-positioning (reduced)
1 = far left (0–2)
2 = left (3–4)
3 = center (5)
4 = right (6–7)
5 = far right (8–10)

respondent's trust in the cantonal government of Aargau (reduced)
1 = very low (0–2)
2 = rather low (3–4)
3 = medium (5)
4 = rather high (6–7)
5 = very high (8–10)

respondent's marital status (own statement; reduced)
1 = single
2 = married/in civil union
3 = widowed
4 = divorced/dissolved civil union

respondent's denomination or religious community (reduced)
1 = none/undenominational
2 = Protestant/Reformed/Evangelical
3 = Catholic/Christian Catholic/Old Catholic
4 = other

respondent's highest level of education (reduced)
1 = no graduation, compulsory schooling
2 = apprenticeship, commercial diploma
3 = higher education entrance qualification, diploma/technical secondary school, higher vocational training
4 = polytechnic, university, ETH

respondent's current employment situation (reduced)
1 = self-employed/freelancer
2 = employee
3 = in education
4 = pensioner
5 = unemployed
6 = other inactive person
7 = housewife/househusband

the political party (recoded extended set) the respondent feels closest to his/her own political stance
1 = SVP
2 = SP
3 = FDP
4 = Mitte
5 = Grüne
6 = GLP
7 = EVP
8 = other
9 = multiple (left)
10 = multiple (center-right)
11 = multiple (arbitrary)
12 = none

empirical quarter the respondent's monthly gross equivalised income belongs in
1 = bottom income quarter
2 = second income quarter
3 = third income quarter
4 = top income quarter

dummy value indicating whether or not the respondent answered the skill question "Who has elected the members of the Federal Supreme Court so far?" about the federal proposal "Bestimmung der Bundesrichterinnen und Bundesrichter im Losverfahren (Justiz-Init
1 = wrong
2 = correct

dummy value indicating whether or not the respondent automatically receives the "easyvote" booklet by postal mail (requires that the respondent's municipality has subscribed to this service for the respondent's age range)
1 = receives no "easyvote" booklet from the municipality
2 = receives "easyvote" booklet from the municipality

dummy value indicating whether or not the User-Agent string of the respondent's web browser corresponds to a mobile device (smartphone, tablet etc.; only online respondents)
1 = non-mobile device
2 = mobile device

respondent's latent expertise on the federal proposal "Bestimmung der Bundesrichterinnen und Bundesrichter im Losverfahren (Justiz-Initiative)", measured in 5 discrete categories (based on latent_expertise_federal_proposal_2; only voters)
1 = very low
2 = rather low
3 = medium
4 = rather high
5 = very high