Easy electronic voting: a good experience
27 September 2023
Soon Swiss voters will be electing their representatives in the National Council and the Council of States. Over the course of this period, the cantons will be sending out voting documents by post. Swiss nationals from the Cantons of Basel-Stadt, St. Gallen and Thurgau who live abroad will also be receiving these materials by post. But they can vote easily and securely with e-voting. Back in June, they were able to cast their votes electronically for the first time. Read about their experiences of the process in this blog.
They live in New Zealand and Israel. But they are Swiss citizens with a strong connection to their home country.
Erich Widmer has been living in New Zealand for many years now. He decided to emigrate for professional reasons. In his new home, he established himself as a self-employed electrician and later went on to set up his own dental laboratory. Even though he has been living abroad for many years, he and his wife still have a keen interest in what goes on back home in Switzerland. Erich continues to embrace Swiss traditions, too: he plays the alphorn and enjoys yodelling in his spare time. As a member of the Swiss Kiwi Yodel Group, he has had many opportunities to revisit his old homeland by taking part in the Federal Yodelling Festival.
Esther Buess is a real globetrotter. As a young actress, she got her first theatre booking in Heidelberg, and she went on to act and live in many cities in Germany. Then love took her even further away from home: 20 years ago, she moved to Israel, which became her new home. But Esther still frequently goes back to Switzerland to see her family and to meet up with friends from her childhood and teenage years.
“Absolutely great– it’s just so quick and easy”
This is Esther’s own description of her e-voting experience at the June 2023 vote. She regularly keeps track of Swiss politics and is pleased she can now vote electronically in an easy, secure way without having to worry about her voting envelope being delivered late. Erich Widmer has already used e-voting in the past and thought it was “a breeze” even then. According to Erich, the new e-voting system that Swiss Post has developed and rolled out across the cantons has made the process “crystal clear and even easier”.
Secure e-voting – now at the Swiss federal elections, too
The federal elections are just round the corner. Over the next few days, thick envelopes with advertising materials from parties and candidates will be landing in people’s letter boxes. But Swiss Post isn’t just responsible for sending out the voting documents and then returning the voting envelopes by post. It also gives people the opportunity to cast secure electronic votes via its e-voting system developed in Switzerland. To date, the Cantons of Basel-Stadt, St. Gallen and Thurgau use Swiss Post’s e-voting system, allowing some of their eligible voters in Switzerland or abroad to vote electronically.
When it comes to e-voting, security is paramount. This is why there are regular tests and reviews: in July, the system passed another hacker test. During this so-called “intrusion test”, none of the 2,600 ethical hackers from all over the world managed to hack into the system or even into the electronic ballot box. The Confederation also has the system reviewed. Swiss Post takes these audit reports into account in its continuing development of the system. After this renewed acid test, the Federal Council issued the Cantons of Basel-Stadt, St. Gallen and Thurgau with an initial authorization in mid-August to use e-voting at the Swiss federal elections in 2023. Esther Buess and Erich Widmer are looking forward to being able to use e-voting in October once again after the successful premiere of the system in June and to having the opportunity to cast their votes electronically.