The eVoting project involves a complex and highly secure system of servers and databases that are used to verify the identity of the voter and protect their privacy and the integrity of their vote. The government has invested substantially into this project because it believes that governance is a dynamic exercise and that administrations should not wait for the people to demand a service but should look ahead and provide services that are appropriate.



The technical challenge has been to overcome four key hurdles:

• Voter authentication and the implementation of the "one person, one vote" principle. This remedied by the use of single use personal identification number (PIN) codes that are sent out to each registered voter and which must be used in tandem with the voters birth date and municipality of origin, and once entered, prevents individuals from voting again.
• Voting site authentication to prevent voters from casting their ballot on counterfeit voting sites. This is achieved through the use of voting confirmation codes that are embedded into images that are individual produced for each voter who visits the site.
• Vote integrity and security (preventing votes from being read or modified) are guaranteed by a secure connexion between the voters' PC and the voting server. Mixing the voter's authentication data with his choices ensures the integrity of the vote.
• Vote confidentiality. The solution involves a sort of “double envelope” encryption system in which the act of voting and the content of the actual vote are instantaneously and irreparably separated once the vote is made.

Democracy, Political Development.

Switzerland is especially well suited for eVoting for the following several reasons which have been identified and reinforced by numerous studies carried out by the Geneva and Swiss federal governments.

• Switzerland's "direct democracy" system is suited to internet voting, in part because of the numerous referendums, but also because greater sovereignty lies with the citizens than elected members of parliament (MPs).
• 65% of the Swiss population is connected to Internet, whether at home or in the workplace and one out of three Swiss surfs the web daily.
• 580,000 Swiss citizens (roughly one in ten) live abroad and eVoting offers an effective and efficient way to include them. It also expands access for the disabled.
• The Swiss public service is relatively adaptable and has to be where people are, including on the internet.