A Swiss e-voting pilot in Basel-Stadt failed to decrypt 2,048 ballots cast in national referendums, forcing officials to suspend the program. The system, designed for citizens living abroad and voters with disabilities, collected votes through three USB keys that all failed to decrypt the encrypted ballots despite containing the correct codes.

Basel-Stadt officials, including IT experts, could not access the votes despite multiple attempts with different USB devices. The incident represents less than 4 percent of total votes cast in the canton but prompted criminal proceedings and an external investigation. The canton has delayed confirming voting figures until March 21 and suspended the pilot until year's end.

This failure highlights ongoing challenges with electronic voting systems worldwide. Switzerland had previously scrapped another e-voting attempt in 2019 after security researchers discovered vulnerabilities in the source code. While other cantons' systems and the national Swiss Post e-voting platform remained unaffected, the Basel-Stadt incident raises questions about the reliability of digital voting infrastructure for citizens who depend on accessible voting methods.