Swiss Abroad blame e-voting failure for falling turnout

E-voting has a greater impact with voters who live abroad, say experts. Keystone-SDA

Around a third fewer Swiss expatriates have cast votes in their homeland since the suspension of an e-voting service. The Organisation for the Swiss Abroad (OSA) complains that the absence of digital voting represents a danger to democracy.

A pilot project to allow e-voting in some cantons was abandoned in 2019 amid technical and security concerns of the system run by Swiss Post. Since then, the number of Swiss expatriates voting in canton Geneva has fallen from 36% to 27%.

Political scientist Micha Germann, who researched Swiss e-voting at the University of Bath in Britain, the Geneva figures are applicable for the whole of Switzerland. “Across the cantons, this will probably lead to an average decline in voter turnout [among the Swiss abroad] of around a third,” she told Swiss public broadcaster SRFExternal link.

OSA Director Ariane Rustichelli is concerned about the development. “Our members have the feeling that it is uncommon for their opinion to be raised and taken into account in Switzerland,” she said. “It is very dangerous for our democracy when so many of our citizens think this of their own country.”

Political scientist Micha Germann is certain that a viable digital option would boost voter turnout among Swiss expatriates, even if it would likely have a limited impact among voters living in Switzerland. “I must emphasise that e-voting led to an increase in participation of between four and six percent among the Swiss abroad,” he said.

The OSA, which represents the interests of 760,000 Swiss citizens living abroad, has long campaigned for e-voting for its members. In 2018, it presented a petition with 11,000 signatures to the Swiss authorities calling for electronic voting to be made available by 2021.

But progress has been slow. In April, a group of independent experts said a new proposed Swiss Post e-voting system was in need of technical improvements.

OSA’s Ariane Rustichelli has little confidence that electronic voting will be available in time for next year’s general election.