Swiss Review 4/2019

Swiss Review / July 2019 / No.4 18 Politics SUSANNE WENGER This way of voting opens the door to manipulation, said the sceptics. Not to mention the possible negative effects on the democratic process. The opposite is the case, re- sponded the supporters: the new voting channel makes it easier to take part and will increase voter turnout. These arguments did not come from the current debate on e-vot- ing. They are from 25 years ago. At that time, Switzerland introduced voting by mail. In the meantime, this process has become established: 80 to 90 per cent of voters still use it. Only a minority venture out to their local polling booth in person to put their completed ballot paper in the ballot box. The arguments about a third channel – computer vot- ing – are just as passionate now. Electronic voting is of par- ticular concern for the “Fifth Switzerland” in particular. 174,000 Swiss abroad are currently registered on the elec- toral roll. In its petition submitted in 2018, the Organisa- tion of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) demanded that they all have access to e-voting by 2021. Preparations have already been underway in the Federal Government and in the cantons for fifteen years. Until recently, it was possible to vote with the click of a mouse in ten cantons. But only a test mode is permitted at present, and it is also temporary, which the “Swiss Review” discovered shortly before going to print. The Federal Council has currently shelved its original plan for a law change that could have introduced e-voting for all el- igible voters in Switzerland and abroad. The growing con- cerns among the political parties are the reason for the pol- icy change. And several developments have seen the discussion become quite heated recently. Safety before speed The advantages of e-voting are obvious to the government: Swiss abroad can safely take part in voting and elections; and voters with a disability can submit their vote them- selves. However, the sceptics and some of the proponents of e-voting believe that the system, security and financial questions must be clarified beforehand. It is concerning that the pioneer canton of Geneva stopped using its independently developed e-voting sys- temdue to cost considerations. Six cantons did use it. Now they need to find another solution. Moreover, with the pro- ject being abandoned inGeneva, the last state provider dis- appears. However, even many supporters of e-voting be- lieve that it should be in state hands. This demand has not been fulfilled by the only remaining e-voting systemof the Swiss Post. It is programmed by a Spanish company, among others. The Swiss Post’s system was also withdrawn from service for the voting on 19 May. External experts discov- ered security weaknesses during testing. “Risk for democracy” Now various parties are requesting that the process be stopped for now. Since spring, a broad alliancemade up of the left-wing Greens through to the right-wing conserv- ative Swiss People’s Party (SVP) has been collecting signa- tures for a popular initiative. They want to ban e-voting for five years. According to the text of the initiative, a later introduction would be possible but only with strict tech- nical requirements. It is not only amatter of guaranteeing the same level of protection from manipulation as with the handwritten procedure. The initiators are also de- manding that voters be able to monitor the major steps of electronic voting “without the need for any particular ex- pertise”. “Everyone understands ballot box and postal voting,” says the Lucerne Young Liberal Nicolas Rimoldi, Campaign Head of the Initiative, “however, e-voting is only under- stood by a few specialists”. This is undemocratic, Rimoldi says. He is a fan of digitalisation, however, the issue in ques- E-voting encounters a headwind Electronic voting is important for Swiss Abroad. However, concerns about the digital voting channel are growing in Switzerland. The Geneva e-voting system: it was not entirely paper-free as the voting code came by post. Photo: Keystone