evoting the Swiss experience

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e-voting the Swiss experience

• CoE e-voting review meeting
• Strasbourg, 23-24.11.2006

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Topics

• What is meant by e-voting?
• What happened so far?
• Next steps?

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Introduction Definition of e-voting

• Electronic voting - refers to the option of using
• electronic 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)

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Introduction Definition of e-voting

• e-voting as an additional means of voting

gt 80
lt 20

• focus on remote e-voting

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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.

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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.

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Pilot Trials
Users of the official "Guichet unique"
electronic office.
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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

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Pilot Trials Cost-effectiveness

• Assuming that several cantons operate an e-voting
• system together, and that those processes which
  are
• common to all forms of referendum (such as, for
• example, the printing of the voting permits, the
  creation
• of the voting register, the checking of voting
  rights etc.)
• feed into a cantonal or supra-cantonal election
  and
• referendum system, the implementation of e-voting
• would be more cost-effective than postal voting.

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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.

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E-voting in Switzerland prospects

• 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.

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E-voting in Switzerland prospects

• 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.

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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.

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Thank you!

• nadja.braun_at_bk.admin.ch