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Robert Hensler, Chancellor of the Canton of Geneva and responsible for the electronic voting project: "Electronic voting increases ‘turnout’"

Three years ago the Canton of Geneva introduced electronic voting, which has already taken place on four occasions. Chancellor Robert Hensler draws conclusions from this experiment.

Interview (02.07.2004)

Question: Why did the Canton of Geneva opt for electronic voting when many European countries prefer voting machines?

Robert Hensler: There’s a fairly simple reason: distance voting is already an established practice in the Canton. In 1995 we introduced postal voting, which is used by 95% of Geneva’s electorate and two-thirds of voters in Switzerland. In the circumstances, there would be no point in equipping polling stations with voting machines for 5% of the electorate.

What voters like is to be able to vote over a period of two or three weeks, in the case of a municipal or cantonal ballot, and in particular to vote from wherever they happen to be. We’re responding to present-day demand: nearly 70 percent of Swiss people have access to the Internet, and e-banking and on-line ticket reservations are common in Switzerland. This is an extra service that supplements the other voting arrangements.

Question: What conclusions have you drawn from the four municipal ballots that have already taken place?

Robert Hensler: We’ve found that electronic voting is the form most widely used by the 30 - 39 age bracket and that it’s on a par with postal voting in the 18 - 29 and 40 - 49 age groups. This shows that electronic voting has taken off. We found, to our great surprise, that 15 to 20 percent of the over-60s use it too. We’ve also observed that electronic voters vote in the same way as other voters. In other words, on-line voting can be said to be a neutral voting method.

Question: What do you see as the main advantage of electronic voting?

Robert Hensler: There are several advantages: between 15 and 20 percent of those who use the system say they regularly abstain and claim that they would vote more often if electronic voting were universal. So there’s no doubt that "turnout" will increase. In addition, it’s essential that we interest the 18 - 25 age group in democracy, and electronic voting, which is in keeping with their lifestyle, will make this easier. It also enables people with disabilities to vote. We’re also developing an application that works with solar power, by means of voice recognition and biometric data, which could be exported to countries where democracy is less well-established.

Question: Critics of electronic voting complain mainly of the lack of democratic scrutiny when the results are counted and the fact that it is impossible to recount them in the event of a dispute. What you say to that?

Robert Hensler: A recount is always possible, not least with different software, because we have mirror servers and so there are duplicates of the electronic ballot box. The key to security lies elsewhere - in the inviolability of the electronic ballot box. We’ve taken maximum precautions and have a very high security level. But absolute security doesn’t exist, any more than it does for other forms of voting. In Switzerland democratic scrutiny is exercised by representatives of the political parties, who hold the key to the electronic ballot box.