Plans for permanent e-vote option put to consultation
Trials with a limited number of voters have taken place in Switzerland since 2004.
Keystone
The Swiss government is going ahead with plans to introduce the option of permanent electronic voting, defying criticism by opponents over security issues.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/urs
A draft bill has been approved and will be sent for consultation to political parties, the cantons and other organisations and institutions, according to a statement on Wednesday by the Federal Chancellery.
A final proposal is subject to approval by parliament at a later stage.
The government says it wants to pursue its policy of a gradual introduction of e-voting as an additional possibility besides the postal vote or at the ballot box. In June, the chancellery announced it was mandated to draft a consultation paper.
More than 300 trials with a limited scope have been carried out successfully over the past 14 years, according to the chancellery.
However, critics argue the electronic voting channel can be manipulated and moves are underway to launch an initiative aimed at a five-year moratorium, following a defeat in parliament earlier this year.
The Swiss Abroad community has been pushing for e-voting to be made available to all citizens living overseas by 2021.
Direct trains to run from Zurich to Florence and Livorno
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Railways and Trenitalia will offer direct trains from Zurich to Florence and Livorno and vice versa from 2026.
Number of Swiss armed forces exceeds specified limit
This content was published on
The Swiss armed forces had an effective headcount of around 147,000 as of March 1, 2024. This exceeds the upper limit of 140,000 specified in the army organisation by 5%.
More than 400,000 cross-border commuters now work in Switzerland
This content was published on
More than half of all cross-border commuters were resident in France (around 57%). Large proportions also lived in Italy (23%) and Germany (around 16%).
Amherd and von der Leyen discuss ongoing Swiss-EU negotiations
This content was published on
Swiss President Viola Amherd and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have met and talked about the ongoing negotiations between Bern and Brussels.
This content was published on
One million francs, 34 million euros and around 830 kilos of gold: this is the fortune that two Swiss nationals are accused of having moved across borders for at least four years.
Girls in female-dominated classes earn more later on
This content was published on
At the age of 30, women from school classes with a 55% share of girls earn $350 more per year than women from classes with a 45% share of girls.
This content was published on
Geneva-based luxury goods group Richemont reported a downturn in performance for the first half of its 2024/25 financial year. Both sales and profit declined.
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
E-voting to be introduced permanently
This content was published on
The government wants to enshrine electronic voting in Swiss law as an alternative to paper ballots in elections and votes.
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.
This content was published on
A recent test by hackers found security vulnerabilities in the Geneva system, but according to RTS this was not the reason for the cantonal authorities wanting to ditch its e-voting platform. The RTS report on Wednesday said the authorities did not want to continue investing in revising and improving the system which had cost CHF2…
This content was published on
Next year, Swiss authorities will put one of the country’s two e-voting systems up for attack by hackers – with a prize on offer for breaking it.
Opponents of e-voting suffer setback in parliament
This content was published on
Parliament has thrown out attempts to stall the permanent introduction of e-voting – a decision welcomed by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad.
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.