Bundeskanzlei BK Sektion Politische Rechte e-voting – the Swiss experience CoE: e-voting review...

Bundeskanzlei BKSektion Politische Rechte

e-voting – the Swiss experience

CoE: e-voting review meetingStrasbourg, 23-24.11.2006

2 E-Voting: Swiss experience | Strasbourg, 23-24.11.2006

Nadja Braun, Bundeskanzlei BK

Topics

• What is meant by „e-voting“?

• What happened so far?

• Next steps?



Introduction: Definition of e-voting

Electronic voting - refers to the option of usingelectronic means to vote in referendums and elections.

• including: • popular votes (at least 4 times a year…) • elections • electronic signature of referendums, initiatives

and candidate proposals ( in the future)



Introduction: Definition of e-voting

• e-voting as an additional means of voting

< 20% > 80%

• focus on remote e-voting



E-voting in Switzerland: Review

1998 Federal Council mentions in the „Strategie für eine Informationsgesellschaft“ that the

feasibility of e-voting should be examined.

2000 Parliament asks for feasibility study on e-voting.

Federal Chancellery is mandated to do the feasibility study.



E-voting in Switzerland: Review

2002 Federal Council adopts report on chances, risks and feasibilty of e-voting in Switzerland. This

report is subsequently discussed in Parliament.

in order to do a thorough feasibility study, pilot trials are initiated in the cantons of Geneva,

Neuchâtel and Zurich (in co-operation with Federal Chancellery).

Parliament adopts legal basis for pilot trials.



Pilot Trials

Date Canton/Communes Extent of trial Nr. of electronicvotes (share of allvotes as %)

26.09.04 Genf: Anières, Carouge, Cologny, Meyrin

22'137 eligible voters

2'723 (21.8%)

28.11.04 Genf: Anières, Carouge, Cologny, Collonge-Bellerive, Meyrin, Onex, Vandoeuvres, Versoix


3'755 (22.4%)

25.09.05 Neuenburg 1'732 eligible voters*

1'178 (68.0%)

27.11.05 Zürich: Bertschikon, Bülach, Schlieren


1'154 (of which 243 by text message)(22.1%)

27.11.05 Neuenburg 2'469 eligible voters*

1'345 (55.1%)

* Users of the official "Guichet unique" electronic office.



Pilot Trials: Voter Turnout

• e-voting would primarily replace postal voting

• It could attract a small number of abstainers, mainly among younger people and voters who do not participate regularly

• It could lead to a moderate increase in voter participation



Pilot Trials: Cost-effectiveness

Assuming that several cantons operate an e-votingsystem together, and that those processes which arecommon to all forms of referendum (such as, forexample, the printing of the voting permits, the creationof the voting register, the checking of voting rights etc.)feed into a cantonal or supra-cantonal election andreferendum system, the implementation of e-votingwould be more cost-effective than postal voting.



E-voting in Switzerland: prospects

2006 31.05.2006: Federal Council adopts evaluation report on e-voting pilot trials. It would like to

see the progressive introduction of e-voting in Switzerland.

26.11.2006: further trials in Neuchâtel and Zurich.

2007 Parliamentary debates on the future of e-voting in Switzerland.




In the medium to long term the Federal Council, with

the approval of Parliament, wishes to initiate the

following steps:

• Allow further cantons to implement their own projects (without financial support).

• Enable e-voting for the Swiss Abroad. In order to ensure participation in e-voting, every canton would first have to create a central register of Swiss Nationals Abroad.




In the medium to long term the Federal Council, with

the approval of Parliament, wishes to initiate the

following steps:

• The electronic signing of popular initiatives, referendums and candidature nominations for elections to the National Council is still a long way off. The use of digital signatures is a prerequisite, but these are not yet in wide use in Switzerland.



Closing remarks

• E-voting is feasible in Switzerland

• Step-by-step approach is still the best way forward.

• E-voting has only a chance of being introduced if all those involved – voters, politicians and authorities – have a lasting acceptance of and trust in the new procedures.

Bundeskanzlei BKSektion Politische Rechte

Thank you!

[email protected]

Bundeskanzlei BK Sektion Politische Rechte e-voting – the Swiss experience CoE: e-voting review...

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