Swiss Post launches platform for testing e-voting

There are currently no plans to create an app dedicated to electronic voting © Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott

At the beginning of March cantons Basel City, St Gallen and Thurgau were given the go-ahead to resume e-voting trials. Anyone can now cast a dummy vote for an unlimited period of time on the online platform set up by Swiss Post.

“Do you like sunny weather?” “Do you like rainy weather?” These are the two questions visitors will be asked when trying out Swiss Post’s electronic voting platform. The aim is to familiarise people with the procedure.

After all, Swiss citizens abroad from those three cantons – as well as people with disabilities in Basel City – will be able to use the system to vote electronically in the national votes on June 18. This represents around 65,000 people.

After several years of waiting, Switzerland is once again opting for e-voting. The system was most recently used in 2019, when it was shut down due to security concerns, much to the dismay of the Swiss diaspora around the world.

On the homepage of the test system, the various steps to be followed are explained, each with details on how the vote would work in reality.

For example, a pseudo legitimation card (or voting card) with several codes must be downloaded. During the actual process, this card, together with the voting material, is sent by post by the cantons.

Then the coding fun begins. In total, the user must enter three codes and check two. The first initialisation code, 24 characters long, must be entered after selecting the ballot. This is followed by the actual questions and a page for checking the answers. This is where the ballot is “encrypted and transmitted”. This will display unique verification codes which must match the codes on the voting card. Enter one more code and, fingers crossed, “voted” appears. A final comparison with the finalisation code remains to be made.

The pseudo voting card used to test the electronic voting is in this form. swissinfo.ch

Voting blank is also possible. All you have to do is not tick any boxes when the questions are displayed.

No app

Some steps take a few seconds, “for security and verification reasons”, said Nicole Burth, head of communications at Swiss Post. It is important to have a good internet connection, otherwise the system can get stuck.

Although digital methods are being developed, there are currently no plans to create an app dedicated to electronic voting.

“The platform will obviously be available on mobile devices. But since the website ensures the security of the system, we don’t see any point in proposing a specific app,” said Xavier Monnat, head of e-voting at Swiss Post.

Similarly, technological developments will not mean the end of paper. The legal provisions stipulate that the voting material will always be available physically, Burth said. To vote electronically, users will receive a unique voting card before each vote or election, together with their paper voting material.

Swiss Abroad

According to the chancelleries of the three cantons concerned, this will happen automatically. The Swiss Abroad concerned will not have to make an explicit request.

However, the cantons do not plan to actively inform Swiss citizens abroad about the Swiss Post test platform.

The Swiss Post will present its product to the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) in the next few days. Since the OSA “fully supports the initiative and invites as many Swiss Abroad as possible to take part”, according to its director, Ariane Rustichelli, it will inform the diaspora on its SwissCommunity website.

“This is a desire for transparency on the part of Swiss Post, which we welcome. But the real test will come with the vote on June 18,” she said.

Federal elections?

A fourth canton, Graubünden, has announced that it will introduce electronic voting from 2024. Other cantons are also considering it.

It is not yet possible to say whether Swiss Abroad registered in cantons Basel City, St Gallen and Thurgau will be able to vote electronically in October’s federal elections, as this will require additional approval from the federal government. The corresponding applications are currently being made to the Federal Chancellery.

You can test the electronic voting system hereExternal link. (You may experience difficulties with a company computer.)

Edited by Samuel Jaberg. Translated from French by Thomas Stephens