Signatures from 137 countries for OSA’s e-voting petition

OSA’s online petition in support of e-voting is literally backed by people all over the world. By the time the signature deadline was reached, Swiss citizens from 137 countries had signed the petition, which was submitted to the Federal Chancellery on 30 November. Through their signatures thousands signalled their support for the demand that Switzerland rapidly introduce an electronic voting and election system. The petition addressed to the Federal Council and parliament specifically calls for e-voting to be made available to all Swiss Abroad by 2021.

OSA feels confirmed in its position: it is convinced that e-voting is the only way to guarantee that all Swiss Abroad are able to exercise their political rights.

A total of 172,100 Swiss citizens living abroad are registered on an electoral register and can therefore vote in Switzerland. However, often their voting intentions remain unfulfilled. Since the election documents often arrive too late, voters living far away from their home country are frequently unable to vote. At the meeting of the Council of the Swiss Abroad on 10 August in Visp, several delegates emphasised that e-voting was ultimately the only way to guarantee that Swiss citizens living abroad were able to exercise their political rights.

Through the petition the Swiss Abroad are now starting to exert more pressure over this issue. However, it remains to be seen how the Federal Council and parliament will react to the petition. At the time of writing, the authorities had yet to respond to OSA’s request.

www.evoting2021.ch