E-Voting Debacle In Basel: Embarrassing Glitch Or Serious Problem?

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) A computer glitch in canton Basel City meant 2,048 votes received electronically for Sunday's national votes could not be counted. All keys to the electronic ballot box failed. How serious is this incident? This content was published on March 9, 2026 - 10:00 5 minutes

I work as editor and correspondent at the Federal Palace. I report on Swiss politics for the Swiss Abroad and manage our political talk show Let's Talk. I started in local journalism in the early nineties and have worked in many journalistic fields, held management positions and covered a range of topics. I joined SWI swissinfo in 2017.

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In canton Basel City around 10,300 Swiss citizens living abroad who are entered in the electoral register can vote electronically. However, on March 8 their votes remained inaccessible to the counters – as did those of 30 voters with disabilities who were also able to participate in this way. They arrived in the electronic ballot box, but the Basel State Chancellery was unable to open them using the decryption code provided.

+ More than 10,000 Swiss Abroad affected by Basel e-vote problems

The authorities announced on Saturday eveningExternal link that all attempts to open the ballot box failed.“Three USB sticks were used, all with the correct code, but none of them worked,” Basel government spokesperson Marco Greiner told Swissinfo.

There were people at work for whom it had already worked countless times, he said.“But now it no longer works. It's really very strange.”

Frustration among the diaspora

The Basel authorities emphasise that the error is not in Swiss Post's e-voting system but solely in Basel's access to it. Nevertheless, the incident has attracted attention. The Swiss Federal Chancellery also felt compelled to provide information External link on Friday after the first notification from BaselExternal link.“The e-voting system and in particular the encrypted votes are unaffected by this,” it said.

For the Swiss Abroad from Basel, the frustration is great. Switzerland's e-voting ambitions have so far been driven by the problem of votes from abroad not reaching the Swiss ballot boxes in time or at all. E-voting was supposed to offer a solution to this problem. The fact that the same problem is now arising again is irritating.

For example, 20 MinutenExternal link reports on a Swiss Abroad who tried to find an alternative voting option immediately after receiving the information from Basel. However, the canton informed her that this was no longer possible.“They are denying you the right to alternative documents. The will of the people is being disregarded,” the woman complained to the canton, according to 20 Minuten.

The Federal Chancellery agrees: the political rights of voters whose votes cannot be counted are being violated, a spokesperson told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)External link.

Another Swiss Abroad who is affected asked on XExternal link:“What happens if the yes and no votes are a thousand votes apart?”

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