www.smartvote.ch www.easyvote.ch www.ch.ch/de/wahlen2023/ www.elections-2023.ch rules on standing for election and the rules on transparency around political funding, as well as an election glossary explaining technical terms such as “multiple candidacy” and “party vote”. In addition, the platform contains information on what to do if you are a Swiss Abroad and want to exercise your political rights in the elections. All but 15 per cent of candidates wanted to be included. According to Erne, the absentees tend to be “list fillers”, i.e. people who enter their name on the election list without expecting to be elected. Easyvote – explanatory videos and app easyvote.ch is another resource making it easier for people to exercise their right to vote. The umbrella organisation of Swiss youth parliaments developed easyvote.ch with the aim of encouraging political participation primarily among young people. The platform offers a good overview of forthcoming elections and popular votes, with neutral, easy-to-understand content that will appeal to a wide range of people. For the federal elections, it has short videos explaining Switzerland’s two-chamber system and how to fill in a ballot paper correctly. There is also a dedicated app called Votenow, which is available for use on smartphone. Ch.ch – election information from the Swiss authorities Meanwhile, the Confederation and cantons offer www.ch.ch – a user-friendly one-stop shop of continually updated information on the federal elections. The site includes an election calendar, an overview of the Liberal society welfare state Expanded protection Extended environmental migration policy Restrictive Law&order financial policy Restrictive Liberal economy Open foreign policy Liberal society welfare state Expanded protection Extended environmental migration policy Restrictive Law&order financial policy Restrictive Liberal economy Open foreign policy Left wing The “smartspider” visualises a person’s political views and values along eight thematic axes. Candidate X in the above example wants an expanded welfare state and a liberal society. He also favours a progressive, EU-oriented foreign policy approach. In comparison, environmental issues play a somewhat less important role in his thinking. He completely disagrees with taking a more restrictive line on immigration. (TP) Right wing Candidate Y favours a liberal approach to economic policy, with as much deregulation and as little state intervention as possible. As the spider graph shows, she is just as keen on measures to improve law and order as she is on taking a more restrictive line on immigration. On the other hand, Candidate Y has no interest in expanding the welfare state or advocating environmental issues. (TP) Swiss Review / May 2023 / No.3 13
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