New paper
The Spanish General Review of Compared Public Law (Revista general de derecho publico comparado or RGDPC) dedicates a special issue to the juridical dimension of e-voting, “El voto electrónico y sus dimensiones jurídicas: entre la ingenua complacencia y el rechazo precipitado”, coordinated by Jordi Barrat (13 July 2013).
My contribution, “Internet voting and federalism: the Swiss case”, considers the development of internet voting from the point of view of federalism. The paper highlights the repartition of roles and responsibilities between the Cantons and the Confederation with respect to introduction, operation and control of the internet voting channel. To read the entire paper email me or contact the RGDPC. Here is the abstract.
The Swiss Confederation has a unique political system characterized by strong decentralization and active citizen participation. Voters are asked to participate in votes and elections several times a year at the different levels of Government (local, cantonal, federal). The 26 Cantons (States) have substantial autonomy in political rights implementation including the use of additional voting channels such as the postal or internet ones. Switzerland is a pioneer of internet voting, having started to use it in a controlled and gradual way since the beginning of the years 2000. This paper highlights the relationship between political rights, federalism and internet voting in Switzerland. We affirm that the way internet voting develops in Switzerland is strongly influenced by the federalist context. On the other hand internet voting has also contributed to reinforce federalism.
