Voters and cantons enthusiastic about ‘successful’ e-voting trial

E-voting: a perennial bone of contention, for political and security reasons. Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller

Some 3,616 Swiss citizens abroad voted electronically in federal referendums on Sunday, for the first time since 2019. E-voting remains a core issue for the emigrant community, which is often frustrated by the slow arrival of postal ballots.

Swiss Abroad voters registered in the cantons of Basel City, St Gallen, and Thurgau cast their ballots online on June 18, in the first large-scale e-voting experiment since the technology was shelved due to security concerns.

Following the 2019 discovery of a design flaw in its system, Swiss Post – the developer of the e-voting software – reviewed its technology before the Federal Chancellery announced in March 2023 that the three cantons could carry out a trial.

Good participation

Over the past weeks, several thousand Swiss citizens across the globe were thus able to benefit from the new system, which they could use to cast their ballots until midday (Swiss time) on Saturday, June 17.

And the results now show that the participation rate in the three cantons concerned was higher than the average rate for Swiss Abroad voters as a whole.

The possibility of e-voting complements rather than replaces the traditional postal voting system. Swiss Abroad registered in the three participating cantons could thus choose either method. But they largely opted for the online version.

Satisfied cantons

Authorities in the three regions concerned said they were satisfied with the trial. “We received lots of positive comments about e-voting being an option again,” said Philipp Egger, the head of IT and infrastructure in canton St Gallen. “For many Swiss living abroad, this is the only way they can be sure that their ballot arrives on time.”

In Thurgau, chancellery head Paul Roth said that “voters got to grips well with the system”, and that only four requests for assistance were logged by users.

The tone was similar in canton Basel City, where chancellery director Barbara Schüpbach-Guggenbühl said the comeback of e-voting had been a “success”. In her canton, the most frequently asked question was about the correct website address for the e-voting system, which was not to be found via search engines.

Delighted diaspora

If the cantonal authorities sounded satisfied, Swiss Abroad voters seemed delighted. “Hallelujah!” wrote one SWI swissinfo.ch reader, who goes by the username Rosendorfer. The e-voting system worked “without any problem, it was well explained, and the level of security was very high throughout the multi-stage process”, Rosendorfer wrote.

Another reader, Christa, was similarly enthused, saying: “the vote went smoothly, without any complications! And it’s safe, thanks to the many security codes. Thank you for giving us this option!”

Such reactions could go some way to reassuring those who remain reluctant to endorse e-voting due to its technological complexity. “I was able to vote 10 days ago already in canton Thurgau,” said retired expat Hans Ulrich Lutz. “The process was very well explained, and easy to follow.”

The Swiss Abroad seem unanimous in saying that the trials should now be rolled out permanently. “I voted from southern Thailand,” wrote swissinfo.ch reader  Chrenhuek38. “I am very positive about it, I was able to do it all very quickly. It would be a big step forward and important for the future if this initiative was kept.” This opinion was shared by Ruth Kaufmann, who “hopes that e-voting will soon be introduced in all cantons”.

Rosendorfer also mentioned another advantage of e-voting: “it hugely boosts and even reactivates your link to the homeland, and your interest in it”.

Not all rosy

The announcement in March of new e-voting trials spurred some opposition among politicians. A parliamentary oversight committee demanded to know why federal authorities now judged the Swiss Post’s system to be reliable enough to warrant a re-launch. It also questioned the very basis for new trials.

Alfred Heer from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party was notably irked by the Federal Chancellery’s way of proceeding, and by the Swiss Post system. Heer chairs a sub-committee in parliament which oversees the work of the Chancellery. Media also reported in March that other members of parliament were surprised by the Chancellery’s announcement that the revised system was to be tested again – an announcement reportedly made without any other form of procedure taking place.

Three months later, Heer told SWI swissinfo.ch that a discussion had since been held with Federal Chancellery staff. The upshot of this was an understanding that the e-voting trials did correspond in principal with the wishes of parliament. As such, the roll-out was not simply an arbitrary move. However, “we will continue to follow this issue critically,” Heer said.

Translated from French by Domhnall O’Sullivan