Swiss Review 2/2019

Swiss Review / March 2019 / No.2 24 OSA news Inclusion in the electoral register is easy You can live abroad but still vote on Swiss matters. Doing so helps strengthen the bond with your native country. But to exercise your political voice, you must be included in the electoral register. Some 752,000 Swiss live abroad, of whom a large propor- tion – around 600,000 – are older than 18 and therefore en- titled to vote under Swiss law. However, many do not avail themselves of the political rights that Switzerland grants to its expatriate citizens. Last year, the electoral register contained the names of 174,000 Swiss Abroad. Many who have not voted to datemaywell bewondering how they can get their names on this register now that the election year is under way. How to qualify The procedure is relatively easy and only needs to be com- pleted once. After being entered in the register, you will al- ways receive the necessary ballot material automatically by post. The statutory requirements for being entered in the electoral register are also quite simple: you must be at least 18 years old, your permanent residencemust be abroad, you must be registered with the Swiss representation in your country of domicile, and youmust not be legally inca- pacitated fromvoting. There are no further conditions. Nei- ther will you incur any fees for this. Furthermore, you pay nothing for the privilege of voting per se – or almost noth- ing: if you are unable to vote electronically, there is still the small matter of covering the cost of postage when return- ing your ballot papers. How to proceed Voting in Switzerland helps you to develop an even closer connection to your native country. The fact that Swiss Abroad are always entered in the electoral register of their most recent Swiss commune of residence further accentu- ates this bond. If you have never lived in Switzerland, you will be registeredwith your Swiss commune of origin. The name of your commune is one of the items of information that you will need when going about the simple business of getting on the register. The “Application to exercise po- litical rights” is a straightforward form that you can down- load online, fill in by hand and send to the Swiss representa- tion in your country of domicile. Numerous opportunities to participate in Swiss democracy Swiss who live in Switzerland can exercise their demo- cratic voice in many ways, and are able to shape political discourse at communal, cantonal and federal level. The rights of Swiss Abroad are not quite as wide-ranging. Ex- patriates can vote at national level. Apart from casting their ballots, they also have the right to sign petitions calling for referendums or popular initiatives, as well as the right to run for election to the larger chamber of par- liament, the National Council (see also page 18). Ten can- tons – Berne, Basel-Landschaft, Fribourg, Jura, Geneva, Grisons, Neuchâtel, Solothurn, Schwyz and Ticino – also grant voting rights at cantonal level to their citizens liv- ing abroad. As mentioned above, entries in the electoral register are permanent and do not need to be renewed. They are valid for the entire time that you are abroad. However, you can ask to have your name removed from the register, by writing to the Swiss representation in your country of domicile. Note that your name will also be deleted from the register if your voting papers cannot be delivered three times in a row. Even if this occurs, it is still possible for you to get back on the electoral register without any problem. More often than not, people in Switzerland either sub- mit their ballots by post or prefer the old-school method of voting at the ballot box. What electronic voting will look like in future continues to be the subject of lively debate IMPRINT: “Swiss Review”, the magazine for the Swiss Abroad, is in its 45 th year of publication and is published in German, French, English and Spanish in 14 regional editions. It has a total circulation of 418,000, including 223,000 electronic copies. Regional news appears four times a year. The ordering parties are fully responsible for the content of advertisements and promotional inserts. This content does not necessarily represent the opinion of either the editorial office or the publisher. EDITORS: Marc Lettau (MUL), Editor-in-Chief; Stéphane Herzog (SH); Jürg Müller (JM); Susanne Wenger (SWE); Simone Flubacher (SF), responsible for “news.admin.ch” , Relations with the Swiss Abroad, FDFA, 3003 Berne, Switzerland EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Sandra Krebs TRANSLATION: SwissGlobal Language Services AG; LAYOUT: Joseph Haas, Zürich; PRINT: Vogt-Schild Druck AG, 4552 Derendingen POSTAL ADDRESS: Publisher, editorial office, advertising: Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, 3006 Berne, Tel.: +41313566110, Fax: +41313566101, Postal account (Swiss National Giro): 30-6768-9. Email: revue@aso.ch COPY DEADLINE for this edition: 31 January 2019 All Swiss Abroad who are registered with a Swiss representation receive the magazine free of charge. Anyone else can subscribe to the magazine for an annual fee (Switzerland: CHF 30 / abroad: CHF 50). Subscribers are sent the magazine direct from Berne. www.revue.ch CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please advise your local embassy or consulate. Do not write to the editorial office in Berne.