"It will never be possible to determine who cast which vote"

Is electronic voting really secure?

Yes. First of all, it’s based on two-factor authentication. The additional question ensures votes are actually cast by the designated voter. Secondly, we've created a comprehensive encryption and decryption system. The electoral office only sees how many votes were cast in favour or against a proposal, as well as the number of abstentions. It will never be possible to determine who cast which vote.

For how long have you and your team been working on this project?

After a preparatory phase lasting several years, the actual implementation began in the spring of 2024. The test and acceptance phase with test users and the review by an external auditor have been underway since September. We meet all the statutory and regulatory requirements. We also tested the e-voting system thoroughly using what are known as penetration tests. In collaboration with both our internal IT security team and two external agencies, we aimed to identify vulnerabilities, faults and means of attack so that we could eliminate them.

What was the biggest challenge for the project?

We're taking a completely new approach: in addition to the previous voting options by post or at the ballot box, we're providing a modern method of electronic voting for the very first time. However, this brings with it a degree of uncertainty and, in some cases, resistance. That's why it's so important that everything works perfectly from a security perspective.

What are you particularly proud of?

This is a complete in-house solution. That means we are completely independent of external IT providers and software solutions that we can't influence. Everything is integrated into the core of our Migros Account.

Could Migros become a model for electronic voting at political level?

Yes. At the very least, we're paving the way. By creating a positive experience, we can help to establish electronic voting in Switzerland.