The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) has launched an online petition demanding the introduction of e-voting for all Swiss citizens living outside Switzerland by 2015.

The OSA says that e-voting is especially important for the Swiss abroad. Despite the fact that postal voting is possible, mail delivered late, or to the wrong address, repeatedly prevents them from participating in elections and referenda.

The postal service time lag is a particular issue at election time because of tight deadlines for the delivery of official ballot papers, especially when run-off elections are scheduled within three weeks of a first round.

E-voting has been one of the OSA’s political priorities for a number of years. The organisation represents nearly 700,000 expatriates living all over the world, of whom more than 135,000 are registered on the electoral roll.

E-voting trials have been carried out in different cantons since 2003 using different systems. However, no tests were carried out during last year’s federal elections because of fears the results could be challenged in court.

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