We work electronically, shop on our smartphones, do money transactions with e-banking, exchange information in social networks, subscribe to newspapers in apps, read books on our e-readers, take digital photos ... the list could go on and on. Why don't we vote and vote the way we organize our lives?

The Federal Council decided this summer that the trial phase will soon be completed and e-voting will be put into regular operation. The corresponding consultation procedure is just around the corner. Numerous opponents are expressing concerns in the area of security. Several political initiatives against e-voting have been launched. But the digital future cannot be avoided. The question is not whether we will introduce e-voting in Switzerland, but when.

The federal government and the cantons are ready. They have been gaining experience with e-voting for more than 15 years now. Over 200 successful trials have taken place. One thing is clear, nothing in this world is ever one hundred percent certain. But the systems we have in Switzerland for voting are among the most secure. They are even more secure than e-banking.

When postal voting was introduced in Switzerland 40 years ago, there was an equally fierce debate about the lack of security. In any case, there is no danger of the vote being manipulated on its way from the letterbox to the urn with e-voting. In contrast to voting on paper, e-voting systems recognise immediately whether a vote has been manipulated.

Last year in Glarus, the Landsgemeinde voted that e-voting should be introduced. E-voting is to supplement the postal and personal voting options for the National Council elections in 2019. Last week the Federal Council approved the request by the Canton of Vaud to conduct e-voting trials for Swiss citizens abroad. And the canton of Graubünden, which until the 1920s was still opposed to motorized transport, also opted for the e-voting system of Swiss Post last week.

E-voting does make the voting process more convenient and attractive for many. But the new voting option alone is not enough to digitalize democracy. There are still plans to send voters an envelope containing the voting booklet by post, together with the codes for individual verification. However, digitisation in politics entails much more than the purely technical possibility to vote yes or no.

If, in the best case, information is at best available in a PDF document, this is no longer enough for the digital generation. For them, it's part of everyday life to exchange information online, to use Instagram to gain an insight into their lives, to debate on Twitter, to publish their views in blogs, to exchange views in Facebook groups or to use apps for all kinds of things. They can be reached anytime, anywhere on different devices. Making a difference between off- and online seems pointless.

There is enormous potential for political dialogue here. If public authority communication and political actors want to reach the digital generation, they must adapt to the changing times and new needs. Content must be developed in a smartphone-capable form if it is to reach younger voters. This means investing in digital communication and its new possibilities. Only in this way can the potential of political online dialogue be fully exploited.