The Swiss have launched an app that provides background information as well as the results of all votes nationwide – including some dating back to the 1800s.
On Monday, the federal and cantonal authorities unveiled VoteInfo, which helps users educate themselves about upcoming votes and check the results over the course of a vote day. It’s also possible to explore archives that go back as far as 1981 at the federal level, and even farther in the cases of some cantons, like Zurich (1831).
In addition, users get a reminder to go out and vote. Vice Chancellor André Simonazzi describes it as a “typical e-government project”. He also tweeted about it:
VoteInfo will publish interim results from noon on vote days and update them regularly until the final results are available. The cantons automatically transmit their results to the Federal Statistical OfficeExternal link, and the results are also continuously published as open government data at www.opendata.swissExternal link.
The Federal ChancelleryExternal link developed the app with the assistance of the statistics office and in close cooperation with canton Zurich. The latter already has experience with the “Züri stimmt” app, which is now being replaced by VoteInfo. The free new app is available for iOS and Android.
The app is available in German, French, Italian and Romansh. At the moment, the language of the app depends on the language of an individual smartphone. An upcoming release should allow users to choose the language, a spokesperson for the chancellery told swissinfo.ch on Tuesday.
Its development cost CHF150,000 ($153,000). In addition, there will be operating costs of around CHF100,000 a year.
What VoteInfo doesn’t do is offer information on candidates running for election. That’s the domain of smartvoteExternal link, which provides questionnaires to help people decide which candidates to vote for.
Related Stories
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Politics
Most Swiss Abroad won’t be able to vote online in 2027 federal election
This content was published on
The wage gap between married mothers and fathers in Switzerland is significantly worse than that between single woman and men.
This content was published on
The new "Swiss Football Home" football campus is being built in Thun. The centre, based on an international model, will include pitches for the senior national teams and the headquarters of the Swiss Football Association.
Report identifies gaps in Swiss anti-racism and anti-Semitism measures
This content was published on
Among other things, there are gaps in criminal and civil law protection against racism on the internet, a report published on Tuesday suggests.
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
Swiss abroad submit petition over e-voting
This content was published on
The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) has handed in a petition calling for electronic voting to be made available to all overseas Swiss by 2021.
Foreigner voting rights: broad variety of opinions
This content was published on
What do swissinfo.ch readers make of the idea of granting foreigners in Switzerland the right to take part in votes and elections?
This content was published on
A study confirms what might be expected: that postage-paid envelopes help boost the number of mail-in ballots in Swiss votes.
When it comes to voting, Swiss youth shun technology
This content was published on
Although they may be tied to technology for many other things, young voters look to their parents or teachers for political information before going online, says the latest political monitor study from the Swiss youth vote advocacy organisation EasyVote. Nor do young voters’ top concerns differ much from those of their older counterparts. Discussions about…
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.