Government gives green light to e-voting in 2023 national elections
The Federal Council has authorised the cantons of Basel City, St Gallen and Thurgau to trial electronic voting in the October elections for a limited number of voters.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/jdp
Português
pt
Governo aprova votação eletrônica nas eleições legislativas de 2023
Swiss voters abroad who are registered in any of the three cantons will be able to use the online voting method to elect members to the House of Representatives, a press releaseExternal link on Wednesday said.
Canton Basel City will also allow Swiss citizens with a disability to vote online, and in canton St Gallen a limited number of voters from municipalities that offer e-voting can also register. In all, the cantons are asking for around 65,000 voters to be authorised for e-voting in the national elections – around 1.2% of the Swiss electorate.
The decision “allows three cantons to gain further experience using Swiss Post’s e-voting system,” writes the government. The Federal Chancellery has commissioned independent experts to review the e-voting system on a regular basis.
The decision comes after the same three cantons were allowed to use the Swiss postal service’s new e-voting system for the June 18 national votes. The cantons and Federal Chancellery viewed the first use of the new system in a popular vote as a success.
Ongoing debate
The last time e-voting was used in federal elections was in 2015, when it was authorised for 132,134 voters in the cantons of Geneva, Lucerne, Basel City and Neuchâtel.
A pilot project to allow e-voting in some cantons was abandoned in 2019 amid technical and security concerns, much to the dismay of the Swiss diaspora around the world who argue that the lack of e-voting reduces voter turnout and is a threat to democracy.
UBS fined CHF50,000 for suspected money-laundering negligence
This content was published on
Switzerland’s finance ministry has fined UBS bank CHF50,000 after employees allegedly failed to report red flags of money laundering over several years.
Switzerland received more than 400 extradition requests last year
This content was published on
Switzerland received 430 requests for the extradition of criminals last year, an increase of over a quarter compared to 2022.
Shell companies: Swiss want to make snail farming easier
This content was published on
The Swiss parliament is calling on the government to amend legislation so that small-scale snail breeding facilities on farms can be authorised.
Swiss cheesemaker convicted of involuntary manslaughter
This content was published on
A cheesemaker in Steinerberg has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after seven people died after eating listeria-contaminated cheese.
Swiss car camera uses AI to detect pedestrians 100 times faster
This content was published on
A new type of car camera has been developed that will recognise obstacles 100 times faster than previous driver-assistance systems.
Switzerland ‘extremely concerned’ about spiralling violence in Middle East
This content was published on
Switzerland has strongly condemned Hamas’ recent rocket fire on Israel and Israel’s attacks on a camp for displaced people in Rafah.
Switzerland may triple tuition fees for foreign university students
This content was published on
Foreign students at ETH Zurich and EPFL may soon have to pay at least three times as much as Swiss students in tuition fees.
Female climate activists could report Switzerland to Council of Europe
This content was published on
The KlimaSeniorinnen association (the Climate Senior Women) is urging the Swiss government to respect the European court’s recent decision.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Why can’t voting papers be sent to the Swiss Abroad earlier?
This content was published on
A quarter of Swiss citizens who live abroad struggle to return their voting papers in time. Unfortunately the obvious solutions are also illegal.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.