EU: A quarter of the Swiss population is eligible to vote

Keystone

More EU voters live in Switzerland than in some EU member states. However, appealing to them is time-consuming. SRF national editor Matthias Strasser explains how to vote from Switzerland.

How many people are eligible to vote in Switzerland?

Based on data from the Federal Statistical Office, the EU delegation in Bern estimate that around 2.3 million people in Switzerland hold an EU passport. This roughly corresponds to the population of French-speaking region in Switzerland. Within the EU, this is comparable to the population of Slovenia. However of those 2.3 million EU passport holders, around 1.9 million people in Switzerland are actually eligible to vote.

Who can vote in June?

The rules for voting differ depending on the rules of the individual member state. In some countries, such as Germany and Austria, the voting age is 16, in most EU countries, however, the voting age is 18.

Some member states do not allow individuals living abroad to vote when residing in certain regions. Italy prohibits voting from outside the EU. To be eligible to vote, individuals must travel to their registered voting municipality in Italy. German nationals are only eligible to vote if they have moved abroad within 25 years of the voting period. In many countries, citizens residing abroad must register in good time.

Timely Registration Required in Many Countries

Citizens of various EU member states must register to vote, with deadlines differing by country. Some deadlines have already passed. The European External Action Service has provided an overview of the deadlines hereExternal link.

Who finds voters in Switzerland attractive?

This question cannot be answered for the whole of Europe, as European elections are predominantly contested by national parties and decided on national issues. EU citizens, especially those whose families have not lived in Switzerland for generations, have personal experience of living in another country. Politically, they are more likely to support parties that favour European integration.

Who has the greatest influence?

In purely mathematical terms, the influence of the foreign community is greatest when the community is large, the member state is small, and the barriers to participation are low. This is because small member states receive a disproportionately high number of seats in the European Parliament, and votes in small countries carry more weight. Therefore, the Portuguese community in Switzerland also has relatively significant influence.

How are the Swiss parties positioning themselves?

The effort involved is limited. While representatives of most parties have preferences for the election outcome and consider it important for Switzerland, no party is running a campaign because, as a non-member state, they do not want to get involved. The SP has published an election appeal and organised an event for EU citizens.

Are European parties campaigning in Switzerland?

Hardly. The parties in the member states would have to reach out to their communities in Switzerland (and other countries abroad). This effort is too great for many. When the nearly two million eligible voters in Switzerland are divided among the member states, their significance diminishes considerably. Two million votes is a small number in the European context, where around 400 million people are eligible to vote.

Translated using DeepL/amva

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