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.
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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.
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E-voting to be introduced permanently
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The government wants to enshrine electronic voting in Swiss law as an alternative to paper ballots in elections and votes.
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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.
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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…
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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
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Parliament has thrown out attempts to stall the permanent introduction of e-voting – a decision welcomed by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad.
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