In Switzerland, e-voting means voting online via the internet. E-voting is part of the strategic plan of Swiss E-Government, which entails close collaboration between the Confederation and the cantons. Since 2004, 15 cantons have offered internet voting to a limited part of their electorate in over 300 trials. The Confederation and cantons have followed the principle of ‘security before speed’. In Switzerland, e-voting is only permitted if strict requirements under federal law are met.
Current situation
Despite a long trial phase, involving over 300 trials in 15 cantons, e-voting has not been available in Switzerland since July 2019. On 26 June 2019, the Federal Council commissioned the Federal Chancellery to work with the cantons to redesign the trial phase of e-voting. The redesign of the trial phase focuses on the following four objectives:
- Further development of the systems
- Effective control and oversight
- Increasing transparency and trust
- Closer cooperation with the academic community
In 2020, the Federal Chancellery and the cantons have produced a joint final report on the redesign and relaunch of e-voting trials. In the first stage of the redesign, the legislation on e-voting has been revised. The partially revised Ordinance on Political Rights (PoRO) and the totally revised Federal Chancellery Ordinance on Electronic Voting (OEV) came into force on 1 July 2022 (see Federal legislation).
At its meeting on 3 March 2023, the Federal Council granted the cantons of Basel-Stadt, St Gallen and Thurgau basic licences for resuming trials with online voting in federal votes (see media release of 3 March 2023). The basic licences are valid for conducting online voting with a limited part of the electorate up to and including the vote on 18 May 2025 (see Trials with e-voting).
For the first time, the cantons will be using Swiss Post's e-voting system with complete verifiability. The system and its operation have been further developed and examined in an independent examination commissioned by the Federal Chancellery. In the process and as part of the continuous improvement process, existing need for action was identified and set out in a joint catalogue of measures by the Confederation and the participating cantons in consultation with Swiss Post (see Catalogue of measures by the Confederation and cantons dated 20.02.2023).
On the basis of the basic licences issued by the Federal Council and in consideration of the catalogue of measures, the Federal Chancellery has granted its authorisation to the cantons of Basel-Stadt, St Gallen and Thurgau for the popular vote of 18 June 2023. The Federal Chancellery will monitor the implementation of measures as part of the future authorisation procedures.
Media releases
Secure e-voting in Switzerland
The video of the Federal Chancellery explains how e-voting is made secure in Switzerland.
