Discussion: comments on the “Swiss Review” election survey

Werner Imholz, Madrid, Spain

Thank you very much, and hats off, for your “big election survey”. I have no idea how you could have done a better job. As a pensioner who has been living in Spain for almost ten years, I am an active and committed advocate of Swiss direct democracy. I always receive the relevant voting papers from my most recent municipality of residence, Frenkendorf (Basel-Landschaft). Given that the time we have to return these papers before each vote is very limited, I would be delighted if the Swiss embassy took responsibility for this process in future.

Johann Rudolf Rogenmoser, Ilha Mosqueiro, Brazil

I have now been living for seven years on the island of Mosqueiro in northern Brazil. E-voting is the only option that would work for me. The documents for the most recent vote arrived three weeks too late. The idea of receiving voting papers by email and returning them by post would not work, given that postal delivery takes three to four weeks.

Jean Thomas Weber, Saint-Gengoux-le-National, France

Thank you for your comprehensive survey of the main political parties, which serves as a good guide to the upcoming elections. However, please allow me one comment. In answer to the question “Do we need to take other concrete steps to ensure that the Swiss Abroad can exercise their political rights?”, the SVP is quoted as follows: “No. Compared to other countries, our expatriates have generous voting rights. The Swiss Abroad can take part in elections and popular votes at municipal, cantonal and federal level.” Since deregistering 20 years ago, we have only been eligible to vote in Zurich at federal and cantonal level. Who has made the error here? The SVP or “Swiss Review”? Or have we been mistaken all this time?

Fact check

Several readers responded to one of the answers in our election survey (“Swiss Review” 4/2023). We quoted the SVP as follows: “Compared to other countries, our expatriates have generous voting rights. The Swiss Abroad can take part in elections and popular votes at municipal, cantonal and federal level.”

We have fact-checked this and can say the following: all Swiss Abroad are eligible to vote at federal level. Ten cantons – Basel-Landschaft, Berne, Fribourg, Geneva, Grisons, Jura, Neuchâtel, Schwyz, Solothurn, Ticino – have gone further and allow Swiss Abroad to vote on cantonal matters as well. Participation in municipal votes is only open to Swiss Abroad in the cantons of Basel-Landschaft, Neuchâtel and – to a certain extent – Ticino. (MUL)

Source: Federal Council report of 17 March 2023 on the exercising of voting rights from abroad; Link: revue.link/stimmrecht