GPK summons the Federal Chancellery

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The news almost went down last week. “The Federal Council approves the resumption of e-voting trials,” the March 3 press release said. They want to allow three cantons to use Swiss Post’s “new e-voting system”. In concrete terms, this means that the citizens of the cantons of Basel-Stadt, St. Gallen and Thurgau will be able to vote electronically in the federal elections this fall. At least that’s the government’s plan.

Since then, alarm bells have been ringing at the Control Commission of the National Council (GPK). Because the federal government had already dared to try to carry out the voting digitally. However, the pilot project was discontinued in 2019 because glaring security gaps became known. In times of cyber wars, virtual warfare and government hacker armies, things became too delicate. Swiss Post’s Spanish partner company, which was already leading the way at the time, later went bankrupt. Question marks remained.

Is electronic voting safe?

The GPK subcommittee, which is responsible for the Federal Chancellery and is chaired by Zurich SVP Landsraadslide Alfred Heer (61), reportedly always had the project on its radar. The file was even considered dead in the Federal Palace, which made the reaction in parliament all the more stunned. The legislator does not simply accept that the new postal system must now suddenly be safe. The GPK subcommittee will therefore hold a hearing with representatives of the Federal Chancellery, as Heer confirmed to SonntagsBlick. People want to know what is behind the rapid turnaround and why a test attempt is already being approved in these national elections.

In its statement, the federal government praised the new, “fully verifiable system” the post office would use. Full verifiability is “an important measure to ensure the security of e-voting,” it says, and it allows “any manipulation of the votes cast electronically to be identified and responded to” using verification codes and mathematical proof.

Subcommittee chairman Heer does not want to comment publicly on the investigation because it is an ongoing process. You will only be informed “after completion by the GPK”.

Source:Blick