Switzerland will test the new electronic voting system

As some cantons will be resuming tests with Swiss Post’s future electronic voting system, Berne will implement an independent audit

The legal basis of the Confederation, which has now been put out for consultation, defines extensive security requirements for electronic voting systems and their operation.
As some cantons intend to take over the tests with Swiss Post’s future e-voting system, the Confederation is organizing an independent audit of this system and its functioning.
This audit will take several months and will be one of the determining factors in granting the cantons permission to resume trials.
The reorganization of the test phase now envisages that the Confederation itself will have the systems and their functioning independently audited, thus assuming greater responsibility in this area.

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Bern’s audit will cover the entire voting process

The audit will cover the entire process, from the development of the system and its operation to the issuing of legitimation cards and the counting of individual voting results. The audit then extends to the cantons and their service providers.
To date, the Federal Chancellery has mandated the following experts to conduct the audit: Rolf Haenni, Reto Koenig, Philipp Locher, Eric Dubuis (Berner Fachhochschule); Vanessa Teague (Thinking Cybersecurity); Olivier Pereira (Université catholique Leuven); Thomas Edmund Haines (Australian National University); Aleksander Essex (Western University Canada); SCRT S.A.; Bryan Ford (ETH Lausanne); Adrian Perrig (ETH Zurich).
The experts will be asked to give their opinion on compliance with the requirements of federal law, the effectiveness of the risk reduction measures and possible improvements as part of a continuous development process.
However, it is not for them to decide whether or not a system can be used. The risk assessment and the responsibility for its possible use remain the responsibility of the Confederation (licensing authority) and the cantons (conducting of inspections).

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Reports from the various experts will be published in early 2022

The experts’ reports will be published once the verification has been completed, probably early next year.
The results of this independent review will be taken into account by the Federal Council when it grants a general licence to an applicant canton.
The legal basis for granting such a licence has been revised and is currently under consultation.
The legal foundations that apply to electronic voting systems and their operation provide for a number of controls that go beyond the independent audit carried out under the auspices of the federal government.

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Mandatory cantonal public bug bounty program

For example, the cantons must ensure that the system provider operates a public bug bounty program, i.e., discloses the system code and financially rewards those who detect an error.
There is also an ongoing exchange with the scientific community, which extends to the use of the system itself and thus goes beyond the licensing process.
All of these measures are aimed at detecting and correcting errors. The aim is thus to ensure that the electronic voting systems and their operation continue to be subject to constant review and improvement in the future.