Switzerland is well known for its direct
democracy and federal structure. All Swiss citizens over the age of 18 except
for those who have been incapacitated on grounds of mental illness or mental
disability (article 136, §1 of the federal constitution) may take part in elections
to the National Council (the main chamber of the federal parliament) both by voting
and by standing for election. They may also vote in popular votes (article 136,
§2 of the federal constitution). A referendum is compulsory for all amendments
to the constitution and for membership of some international organizations
(article 140 of the federal constitution). In addition, electors have the right
to initiative and referendum, that is, they can request a popular vote by
collecting the requisite number of signatures (articles 138, 139 and 141). At
present Swiss voters go to the polls on polling weekends. In many places,
depending on the local regulations, they can also cast a postal vote, that is,
fill out their ballot paper before the polling weekend at any place outside the
polling station and send it by ordinary mail. There are no preconditions for
postal voting: every voter can choose freely whether to cast a postal vote or
to go to the polling station on polling day.
Switzerland is a federal state with 26 cantons
and around 3,000 communes. At least four times per year there are popular votes
in Switzerland
on the national, cantonal and communal level. The four voting weekends and the
intense political discussion on the issues that are put to a vote are a
particular feature of the Swiss political and electoral tradition.
Historical
background (national level)
Swiss
electors who are resident or staying abroad have been allowed to exercise their
political rights since 1977. At first, they were only allowed to cast their
vote on Swiss territory: they had to travel back to Switzerland in order to vote. This
provision has to be seen in close relation with the practice of the Federal
Council (the government) with regard to the politically relevant behaviour of
foreigners inside Switzerland.
Foreigners were not allowed to vote in their own national elections or
referendums while on Swiss territory because of issues surrounding Swiss
sovereignty. In the light of this fact, Switzerland could not expect any
other state to allow Swiss citizens abroad to cast a vote on its
territory. In fact, Switzerland
would not even have asked for this, because, if it had been granted Switzerland would have had to grant the same
rights to foreigners in Switzerland.
In 1989, however, the Federal Council changed its practice. Since then, foreigners
have been allowed to take part in the elections and referendums of their own state
on Swiss territory. At the same time, the postal vote for Swiss voters abroad
was introduced.
Postal
voting can be done from anywhere in the world. There are no restrictions whatsoever,
except for slow postal services in some countries.
Voting
rights of Swiss citizens resident or staying abroad (national level)
Swiss
citizens resident or staying abroad who are eligible to vote are able to take
part at the national level in referendums and elections, as well as giving
their signatures to initiatives and referendums (article 3, §1 of the
Bundesgesetz über die politischen Rechte der Auslandschweizer (BPRAS), the
federal law on the political rights of Swiss citizens resident or staying
abroad). They have the right not only to vote in elections for the National
Council (the ‘active voting’ right) but also to stand for election to the
National Council, the Federal Council or the Federal Court. However, they may only
take part in elections for the Council of States (the upper chamber of the
federal parliament) if the law of the canton to which they are attached
provides the right to vote for Swiss citizens resident or staying abroad.
In the
Swiss federal system, those citizens who are resident or staying abroad do not constitute
a distinct voting area or electoral district; instead they choose one commune as
their ‘voting commune’. This could be the commune in which they were born, or one
in which they have been previously resident (article 5, §1 of the BPRAS).
Eligible expatriates who wish to exercise their political rights must notify
the local electoral office of their chosen voting commune where they intend to
vote. The notification must be renewed every four years (article 5a of the
BPRAS). Eligible Swiss resident or staying abroad can submit their vote either
personally at the voting commune in Switzerland
(according to the same rules as Swiss voters resident in Switzerland) or
by post (article 1 of the BPRAS).
These are
the only two options for Swiss voters abroad. There is no provision for voting
in diplomatic representations abroad.
Switzerland is currently considering
introducing remote e-voting. If it is introduced for Swiss nationals in Switzerland,
then the next step would be to make it available to external electors as well.
Currently, there are provisions allowing only for the testing of remote
e-voting for Swiss voters abroad (article 1 of the BPRAS; see also chapter 10).
Voting
rights of Swiss citizens resident or staying abroad (cantonal level)
Because of
the federal structure of Switzerland,
voting rights at cantonal level may differ from voting rights at the national
level. At the national level, Swiss voters may exercise the same political
rights as Swiss voters in Switzerland,
but the picture is different at the cantonal level. Only 11 cantons out of 26
(as of 1 October 2004 these were Basel-Land, Bern, Fribourg, Geneva,
Graubünden, Jura, Neuchâtel, Schwyz, Solothurn, Ticino and Zurich) allow
electors abroad who are registered in the canton to exercise their political rights
at cantonal level. However, the number of cantons that allow external voting is
growing slowly but steadily. Usually, the reasons behind the introduction of
external voting are of a political nature. If a political party thinks that the
voters abroad will support its politics, it is in favour of introducing
external voting.
Some
figures
At the end
of 2006 there were some 645,010 Swiss citizens resident abroad, of whom about
494,802 were potentially eligible to vote (i.e. they were 18 or over and were
not disqualified by reason of mental illness). At the end of December 2006,
around 107,600 persons were entered in the electoral register of a Swiss
commune and were therefore eligible to vote. These 107,600 electors represented
2.2 per cent of all eligible Swiss electors (4.9 million as of the end of
November 2006).
The
costs of external voting
There are
no specific data available on the costs of external voting. However, it is
possible to make a rough estimate of the additional costs of external voting in
comparison to voting in Switzerland.Given
that there are some 110,000 external electors, and estimating that about 80 per
cent of them live in Europe, the costs can be
estimated as follows.
The costs of external voting in Switzerland
CHF = Swiss
francs. EUR = euro.
The
voting behaviour of Swiss citizens resident or staying abroad
A survey
carried out in 2003 by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (ASO) and swissinfo/Swiss
Radio International (see GfS Forschungsinstitut June 2003) revealed that Swiss
citizens resident or staying abroad have a very distinctive voting profile, formed
far less by their political opinions than by such values as modernity of
outlook, cosmopolitanism, openness to change, tolerance towards foreigners and
belief in the free market.
Representation
of Swiss abroad in the parliament
In the
National Council elections of 19 October 2003, the Swiss People’s Party (Schweizerische
Volkspartei, SVP) in the canton of Zurich came up with a list of candidates for
Swiss external voters (List 21: SVP-Union of Swiss Abroad). To date, no overseas
candidate has ever been elected to the federal parliament. One reason for this may
lie in the fact that the electoral potential of the Swiss abroad is diffused.
Since they do not form their own constituency, their votes are distributed
among the 26 cantons. However, the election in the spring of 2004 of the Swiss
military attaché in Stockholm,
Beat Eberle, to the parliament of the canton of St Gallen demonstrates that it
is possible for Swiss citizens resident abroad to be elected.
