SwissCommunity additional pressure and help to change the dynamic. The Federal Chancellery itself will not put any pressure on the cantons, stressed Thurnherr. Piloting the new e-voting system is their decision alone. “We are not applying pressure or banging the drum. All we want is to be transparent.” Yet there was, and still is, scepticism in some quarters. National Councillor Jean-Luc Addor (SVP, canton of Valais) wondered at the meeting whether just a “gradual” or “partial” approach to the issue would be better, such as the voting papers being sent electronically (and returned by post). Dispatching the voting papers in advance was fraught with risks, Thurnherr replied. The new e-voting system was “miles better than all the alternatives”, in his view. “Why not use the safer method?” The Federal Chancellor also believes that e-voting in its new guise is better and safer than the idea put forward by National Councillor Andri Silberschmidt (FDP, canton of Zurich) of dispatching and returning voting papers via diplomatic courier. Thurnherr: “A modern e-voting system is much safer than postal voting – a procedure that we already trust – and more secure than the usual e-banking platforms that we use on a daily basis.” The parliamentary group cochair, Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter (The Centre, canton of Basel-Landschaft), noted that any decisions to expand the new e-voting pilot to more cantons depended not on the federal government but on the cantons themselves, because it is the cantons that organise the voting process. She agreed with the Federal Chancellor on one thing: if Swiss Abroad express an interest in using e-voting in their canton, this would exert MARC LETTAU The time was right. In May, about one month before the popular votes of 18 June 2023, Federal Chancellor Walter Thurnherr and members of the National Council and Council of States came together to look closely at the issue of e-voting. An important pilot had been scheduled for 18 June, with the new Swiss Post e-voting system due to be trialled for the first time in the cantons of Basel-Stadt, St Gallen and Thurgau. We now know that the system passed the test (see page 9) – although this outcome was still uncertain at the time of the OSA-initiated meeting of the “Swiss Abroad” parliamentary group. Federal Chancellor Walter Thurnherr was already in confident mood. A lot of time had passed since the last e-voting pilots were suspended in 2019, he said at the meeting. But it was wrong to think that nothing had happened in the interim. “The time was used to rethink everything, take on board criticism of the previous pilots and expand collaboration with experts.” They also cranked up the technical requirements for e-voting, he added. The integrated control mechanisms in particular are now reliable, and it is even possible at the time of voting to check whether your vote has been properly recorded. The new e-voting system is “miles better than all the alternatives” Whenever e-voting is on the political agenda, the main questions have to do with security. Initiated by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), the meeting between the “Swiss Abroad” parliamentary group and Federal Chancellor Walter Thurnherr was no exception. Talks took place at the Federal Palace, but the future conversation on e-voting will now be shaped by the cantons. Photo: Danielle Liniger Walter Thurnherr: “Why not use the safer method?” Photo: Danielle Liniger 35 Swiss Review / August 2023 / No.4
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