Swiss citizens residing abroad and registered in the Canton of Fribourg had the opportunity to cast their votes online during the federal vote and cantonal elections held on 27 November 2016. This applied to more than 5,000 Swiss citizens residing abroad and registered in Fribourg municipalities, of which approximately a third of all votes were cast electronically. Swiss Post’s e-voting solution was used successfully for the first time in this contest. This means that Swiss Post now provides its core business of securely transporting confidential information in the digital as well as the physical world. As part of this service, data is held exclusively in Swiss Post’s secure data centers in Switzerland and saved in encrypted form.

Electronic voting system equipped for the future

E-voting in the Canton of Fribourg is initially focused on Swiss citizens residing abroad, with the aim that it will gradually be offered to Swiss citizens in Switzerland as well. Swiss Post’s solution is currently the only productive system in Switzerland to use end-to-end encryption, which ensures that the “reply envelopes” cannot be opened or read from the time the vote is cast on the voter’s device until the moment the ballot box is opened by the cantonal electoral commission. As soon as the Federal Council has given its approval and the cantons have laid the foundations for the solution, it will be developed by the end of 2017 to such an extent that all eligible voters will in principle be able to vote and take part in elections online. This will give rise to planning and investment security for cantons such as Fribourg and Neuchâtel. The latter will implement Swiss Post’s e-voting solution for the first time in February 2017.

Sovereignty and transparency as the basis for trust in online voting

Swiss Post believes that only a transparent and politically neutral solution can be successful in the long term. Swiss Post’s e-voting solution takes into account the diversity of the cantons. It guarantees their full political sovereignty. “Whether during the preparation, voting or counting, Swiss Post’s partner cantons do not delegate their political rights and obligations – Swiss Post’s role remains the same as in the physical world,” emphasizes CEO Susanne Ruoff. As Swiss Post is committed to e-voting in the long term, transparency is a key issue. For this reason, Swiss Post will shortly be publishing documentation on its e-voting process, the e-voting protocol and IT infrastructure and related IT security measures. A public demo area will also soon be set up to allow interested parties to take part in a trial vote.