The disappearing ritual of voting at the ballot box
In this polling station in Bern, aids distribute the ballots received from citizens into the ballot boxes corresponding to various electoral districts for the 1951 parliamentary elections.
Keystone/Photopress
During the 1963 elections to the Swiss parliament, women didn’t yet have the right to vote. But in canton Geneva, women could vote on cantonal issues submitted to voters on the same day.
Keystone/Photopress
Surrounded by his family in the village of Hospental in central Switzerland, a father casts his vote in the parliamentary elections of October 1951.
Keystone/Haefliger
In this school in Bern, the ballot box containing ballots from the 1959 election is closed, sealed and then transported under escort.
Keystone/Joe Widmer
As with all others, the parliamentary elections of October 25, 1963 took place on a Sunday. But as shown here in the city of Zurich, citizens had the possibility to deposit their ballot on Saturday evening.
Keystone/Viktor Dammann
Women participated in the Swiss parliamentary elections for the first time in 1971 as shown here in Appenzell Inner Rhodes.
Keystone / Paul Foschini)
In a democracy, the precise moment when you cast your vote is a special one. But as more people vote online or by mail, physically going to the polls is becoming rare. swissinfo.ch looks back at this (almost) bygone ritual of voting at the ballot box.
This content was published on
Thomas Kern was born in Switzerland in 1965. Trained as a photographer in Zürich, he started working as a photojournalist in 1989. He was a founder of the Swiss photographers agency Lookat Photos in 1990. Thomas Kern has won twice a World Press Award and has been awarded several Swiss national scholarships. His work has been widely exhibited and it is represented in various collections.
Parliamentary elections will take place in a few days. As is the case every four years, Swiss citizens are invited to vote for new members of both chambers of parliament. And while this political event is unlikely to change, the way in which votes are cast is not the same as it used to be.
In the past, the expression “going to the polls” was taken literally. Citizens went to their polling place, often at a local school or municipal office, and deposited their ballots.
This civic moment was also a special time that included heated encounters and debates, often over drinks.
These scenes have become rarer. Voting is now more commonly done by slipping your ballot in a mailbox. Vote by mail is widespread in much of the country. For example, in Geneva some 95% of citizens vote by mail. And in the future, if security issues are resolved, elections may be conducted online via e-votingExternal link.
This content was published on
After years of tests, Swiss e-voting is at a crossroads. The government wants to extend it; a cross-party campaign wants to stop it altogether.
Politicians prefer knocking on doors to posting on Instagram
This content was published on
In the lead-up to parliamentary elections, all Swiss political parties are using social media, but they remain less active online than on the streets.
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.