Subject Matter and Scope (ESASV)

1. This ordinance regulates the pilot operation concerning the electronic voting (E-Voting) of eligible Swiss citizens abroad in cantonal and federal elections and referendums.

2. To the extent that this ordinance does not contain supplementary or deviating provisions, the legislation on political rights shall apply.

1. The government council shall decide, within the scope of a trial operation, for one or more ballots, whether the option of electronic voting should be provided.

2. For federal ballots, it shall submit a request to the Federal Council for the granting of the basic authorization.

1. The pilot operation is available for Swiss citizens abroad who are eligible to vote and have a voting municipality in the Canton of Bern.

2. The State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern determines the deadline by which Swiss citizens abroad must be registered in the voting register of their voting municipality in order to vote and participate in elections electronically.

The Chancellery of the Canton of Bern directs and organizes electronic voting.

1. The Canton of Bern accommodates its eligible Swiss citizens abroad on the e-voting system of the Canton of Geneva.

2. The Canton of Geneva checks the voting eligibility during the voting process based on data provided by the Cantonal Chancellery of Bern from the cantonally harmonized electoral register.

3. The Canton of Bern, the Canton of Geneva, and the Confederation regulate the details, particularly ensuring compliance with the provisions for trials with electronic voting as per Articles 27a to 27q of the Federal Council Ordinance of May 24, 1978 on Political Rights (VPR)2 and the competences, tasks, and responsibilities in an agreement.

1. The State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern is responsible for operating the electoral register for Swiss citizens abroad.

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2. The State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern is responsible for printing the voting cards for eligible Swiss citizens living abroad.

3. The return address on the reply envelope is that of the competent municipal authority.

4. The costs for printing the voting cards and for the enclosing of election or voting materials shall be borne by the State Chancellery. Voting cards issued by the municipalities are excluded from this.

5. Eligible Swiss citizens living abroad who cannot vote or participate in referendums electronically, pursuant to Article 3 paragraph 2, will receive a voting card that only permits voting by mail or in person at the polling station.

Eligible Swiss citizens living abroad who are entitled to vote electronically and who have not received or have lost their voting card may request a duplicate from the electoral register officer.

The duplicate entitles them only to vote by mail or to vote in person at the ballot box.

The request must be submitted to the electoral register office no later than the last working day before election day by the close of business.

The municipality reports each issuance of a duplicate to the State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern. The State Chancellery blocks the possibility of electronic voting with the original voting card in the e-voting system.

The State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern sends the voting or election materials to the eligible Swiss voters abroad. It bears the postal costs incurred in this process.

Eligible Swiss voters abroad who are excluded from electronic voting pursuant to Article 3, Paragraph 2, will receive the voting or election materials from their voting municipality.

If the municipality sends a new voting certificate to a person due to a change of address after the deadline mentioned in Article 3, Paragraph 2, to someone who has already received one, it reports this to the State Chancellery. The State Chancellery blocks the possibility of electronic voting with the electronic voting certificate sent to the old address in the e-voting system.

1. Swiss citizens abroad who are entitled to vote or participate in an election electronically may freely choose between personal voting at the ballot box, voting by mail, or electronic voting for each ballot.

2. They are allowed to cast their vote only once.

1. Eligible Swiss citizens abroad who wish to cast their vote personally at the polling station in their voting municipality must notify their voting municipality in writing or through a personal appearance.

2. If this notification is received by the voting municipality at least six weeks before the polling date, the municipality will issue them with the voting or referendum materials.

3. The voting card issued by the municipality entitles the holder only to vote in person at the polling station or to cast a postal vote.

4. The voting or referendum materials must be collected personally during office hours at the voter registration office of the voting municipality.

5. The municipality reports the issuance of the voting or referendum materials to the State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern. The State Chancellery blocks the possibility of electronic voting in the e-voting system with the electronic voting card that may have already been sent.

1. In electronic voting, eligible Swiss citizens living abroad exercise their right to vote on the Internet through a special election or referendum website.

2. The verification of voter eligibility in the e-voting system is carried out by entering the voting card number printed on the voting card, the personal confirmation code, as well as the date of birth.

3. The State Chancellery may establish additional security elements for technical reasons.

1. Electronic voting is invalid if it cannot be decrypted.

1. The electronic ballot box is opened on the fourth last Monday before the voting Sunday at 12:00 PM and is closed on the Saturday before the voting Sunday at 12:00 PM.

2. In elections, the electronic ballot box is opened on the third last Monday before the election day at 12:00 PM and closed on the Saturday before the election Sunday at 12:00 PM.

3. In the event of runoff elections and when a vote coincides with an election, the government council may determine the timing for the opening of the electronic ballot box, deviating from paragraphs 1 and 2, by resolution.

4. All time indications related to electronic voting are based on the time applicable in Switzerland, i.e., Central European Time (CET), taking into account Daylight Saving Time (CEST).

1. The State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern operates a helpdesk during office hours.

2. The helpdesk answers questions posed by eligible Swiss voters living abroad regarding electronic voting, either by telephone or via email.

1. On the day of the election or vote, the Canton of Geneva communicates the election or voting results to the State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern.

2. The State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern delivers the electronically received election or voting results to the municipalities.

1. The electronic voting or referendum results are added to the results of the postal and in-person votes at the municipalities.

1. Votes cast are separated from personal data at the time of voting by the e-voting system in such a way that they cannot be recombined.

2. The publication of electronic election or voting results broken down by municipalities or voting districts is prohibited.

1. Every electronic vote is automatically recorded in the e-voting system.

2. The electoral committee verifies that votes are not submitted more than once.

3. For voting cards submitted by mail or cast at the ballot box, it is checked whether the confirmation code has been scratched off or damaged. If this is the case, the voting card number is communicated to the State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern for verification using a designated software.

4. If the verification reveals that the vote has already been submitted electronically, the electronic vote is valid, and the mail-in vote is disregarded. If the vote was not submitted electronically, the mail-in vote is valid, and the State Chancellery blocks the possibility of electronic voting if the electronic ballot box is still open.

5. The electoral committee is authorized to open, for the purpose of controlling the prohibition of double voting, the reply envelopes of Swiss nationals abroad received by mail from the first day of ballot box opening at the municipality (Art. 52 Election Procedure Act) and to verify the voting cards. The further processing of the already opened mail-in voting envelopes follows the provisions of the Ordinance on Political Rights of September 4, 2013 (PRV).

1. The Canton of Geneva regularly reviews the e-voting system, particularly with regard to its availability, functionality, and security.

2. If the State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern has reasonable doubts about the security of the e-voting system, it initiates additional examinations.

**The Canton of Geneva Organizes the Encryption and Decryption of the Electronic Ballot Box as well as the Operation of a Control Ballot Box.**

The State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern may attend a delegation for the encryption and decryption of the electronic ballot box.

The Canton of Geneva shall transmit the minutes of the encryption and decryption session to the State Chancellery.

If the Canton of Bern conducts an election or vote outside a voting procedure of the Canton of Geneva or the Canton of Geneva cannot ensure the operation of the control ballot box, the State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern organizes the encryption and decryption of the electronic ballot box as well as the operation of the control ballot box.

1. The State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern creates a record of the data transmission.

1. To compile statistics on the voter turnout of eligible Swiss citizens abroad, the municipal authorities determine the number of valid voting certificates received by mail and at the ballot box, and report these to the State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern through an official protocol.[[4]]

1. The electronically cast votes are listed separately in the final protocol of the electronic election or referendum, but are not published broken down by municipalities.

1. Upon the official determination of the results by the Federation or the Government Council, all personal data collected in connection with the election or vote and the electronic ballot box shall be deleted.

2. Subject to Article 27o (Scientific Supervision) of the Ordinance of the Federal Council on Political Rights.

1. The State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern, in an agreement with the Canton of Geneva and the Confederation, establishes the procedures to follow in emergencies, particularly in the case of system failures or when technical or organizational problems occur during data transfer.

2. It may delegate the municipalities the task of addressing the voting cards and sending the election or referendum materials to Swiss citizens abroad who are entitled to vote.

3. The voting cards sent by the municipalities only entitle the holder to vote by mail or in person at the polling station.

1. For the implementation of this regulation, the State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern issues instructions for the attention of the government prefectures and the municipalities.

1. This regulation enters into force on January 1, 2011.