The Universal Switch Panel (USP) is a panel of generic switches designed to emulate the operation of mechanical switches. The mechanical switch feel is provided by the USP’s front panel switch. The mechanical switch’s contact closure is provided by the USP’s general purpose outputs (GPO). The mechanical switch’s internal tally indicator is provided by the USP switch’s backlight. Unlike mechanical switches, the operating mode of the front panel switches, GPO contact closures, and tally can be easily configured by the user for their specific application. Additionally, ON text and OFF text can be displayed on the face of the USP switch. Each switch can be configured to operate standalone or as part of a radio group. Also, each GPO contact closure can be configured to operate as Momentary, Latching, or interlocked (commonly referred to as “radio group”). And, each tally can be configured to be Always ON, Always OFF, follow the state of the contact closure, or follow the state of an external device. Additionally, the ON and OFF tally for each tally can be individually configured to be Dark, Red, Green, or Amber, and Flash or not. Unlike a mechanical switch, a switch on the Universal Switch Panel can be configured to control a GPO on another USP, turn it ON and OFF.