Swiss Review 2/2020

15 Swiss Review / April 2020 / No.2 of the political parties thought differently, however. Then we had the attempt by Swiss Post to roll out a fully verifi- able e-voting system. Testing showed up a number of se- rious and even quite embarrassing flaws, so Swiss Post eventually decided to pull the existing system. We have also seen a general change in attitudes. How do you mean? Whereas 15 years ago we were saying that the Internet was very good for democracies and bad for dictatorships, it now tends to be the other way around. Everyone is very wary now due to all the factors and arguments that have been documented. But I am sure that if two or three can- tons had a fully verifiable system in place, then neighbou- ring cantons would immediately wonder about whether they can follow suit. This is often how things work in Swit- zerland. Berne has been sending mixed signals on e-voting. On the one hand we have you, the Federal Chancellor, in charge of drawing up a new e-voting testing process by the end of the year in consultation with the cantons. On the other, we see growing pressure from parliament to abandon e-voting. What are you supposed to think if you are a Swiss living in, say, Sydney or Ouagadougou? Anyone who stays informedwill knowwhat is happening in Switzerland, regardless of whether they live in Sydney or Ouagadougou. Swiss politics is all about consultation and consensus – sometimes it is hard to see the wood for the trees. You go one step forward, then two steps back. Things need time. Let us not forget either that with postal voting the discussions began in the 1930s. We introduced it nationwide in 1994. Ticino actually only introduced it for cantonal ballots a few years ago. Last summer, the Federal Council decided against rolling out e-voting throughout Switzerland. It wants a new testing process to be carried out instead. But pilots have been ongoing in several cantons since 2004. We wanted to go one step further than before and test a system that is fully verifiable. Only when we have such a system will we roll out e-voting more widely. Unfortuna- tely, the Swiss Post systemhad flaws. The new testing pro- cess that we have announced is about getting to the next stage. It is about moving forward, slowly but surely. E-voting has mainly come under fire owing to security concerns. Will e-voting ever be secure? Security can never be completely watertight. Any electro- nic process can be hacked or corrupted. However, the sa- feguards that we are putting in place mean that any attempt to hack would, firstly, require an inordinate amount of time and effort, and, secondly, not go unnoticed. The aim is to ensure the highest possible level of safety as we do with aircraft or nuclear power plants. Strictly spe- aking, if you are looking for absolute safety you should ne- ver board an aeroplane. Many voters in the "Fifth Switzerland" think that the security concerns are misplaced. They can use e-banking and access e-gover- nment services, where the level of risk is considered acceptable. Why not e-voting? E-banking and e-voting are not the same thing. Whereas e-banking consists of individual client-server interac- tions, e-voting relates to an entire system. Any damage would be far greater. Even the mere suspicion of votes being hacked is bad for the credibility of our democratic system. Hence, we hold e-voting to much higher security standards than any other electronic system. This has Thurnherr: “I understand the frustration of those who feel disenfranchised.”