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REFERENDUMS IN SWITZERLAND

How Switzerland’s direct democracy system works

Switzerland's regular referendums are a key feature of its unique democracy. But how does it all work? We go behind the scenes.

Published: 23 May 2018 16:41 CEST
Updated: 9 February 2022 10:04 CET

How Switzerland’s direct democracy system works

Photo: George Mills

Around four times a year, households all over Switzerland received bulky envelopes stuffed with ballot papers and information about the country’s upcoming referendum.

This is a regular occurrence in Switzerland where direct democracy is a key feature of the political landscape.

In addition to frequent referenda, some cantons hold open air discussions on particular issues, known as Landsgemeinde.

But how does the process work? Who can vote? And how are the issues to be voted on chosen?

Here we take a look at the key features of the Swiss system where supreme sovereignty resides with the people.

How often do referendums take place?

Swiss people vote in referendums up to four times a year. They vote on around 15 federal proposals and also cast their ballot on issues affecting individual cantons at the same time.

Who can vote?

All Swiss citizens aged 18 or over can vote, including Swiss citizens registered as living abroad. Around 5.3 million voters are eligible to take part in referendums. That is a little under two thirds of all people living in Switzerland.

However, with nearly one in four (24.6 percent) of people living in Switzerland are not Swiss citizens, Swiss direct democracy has demographic limitations.

How do people vote?

There are three ways to cast a vote: by postal voting (the most popular option), at the ballot box, and, in some cantons, electronically (e-voting). However, e-voting remains controversial with concerns over system security.

In the case of postal voting, envelopes are sent out to people’s homes around two months before the referendum and contain the ballot papers as well as booklets with all the relevant legislation (or proposed legislation), and an outline on arguments in favour and against each proposal. These booklets also contain recommendations from the federal government on whether voters should accept or reject proposals.

What is voter turnout like?

In 2017, Swiss voters were called to vote in referendums on three occasions. The average overall turnout out was around 45 percent. Over the last decade, the figure has been above 40 percent.

Individual issues can attract greater turnout, however. Nearly 55 percent of voters took part in a March referendum calling for compulsory television licenses to be scrapped, with the majority rejecting the move that would have cut funds to the national broadcaster.

Longer-term studies from the Swiss Electoral Study Selects project show that over 90 percent of voters had cast their ballot at least once in the previous 20 votes.

Many people pick and choose when they will vote in referendums depending on their level of interest in a particular issue or how relevant they think it is to them personally.

How do referendum issues get selected?

The Swiss system of direct democracy requires any amendment to the constitution to be put before the people in a referendum.

There are three types of referendum: mandatory referendums, optional referendums and popular initiatives.

Mandatory referendums: All constitutional amendments approved by the federal parliament must be voted on in a mandatory referendum via a popular vote. The electorate must also emergency laws with a validity of longer than one year and Swiss membership of specific international organisations.

For example, in 2001, 76.8 percent of voters rejected a proposal that would have seen Switzerland join the European Union. On the other hand, in 2002, Swiss voters finally decided to join the United Nations with 58.4 percent of people backing the proposal.

For mandatory referendums, a double majority is required: that is, a majority of voters and a majority of cantons must vote in favour of the proposal.

A sample signature collection forum for an optional referendum.

Optional referendums: Any 50,000 Swiss citizens (or eight cantons) may request an optional referendum to contest a new or revised law. In the case of individual citizens, they must gather 50,000 signatures within 100 days. If the referendum goes ahead, the new law is passed or rejected by a simple majority of voters.

Popular initiatives: Since 1891 citizens may also demand a change to the constitution via referendum by launching a popular initiative. It must be launched by a group of at least seven citizens and must then be backed by 100,000 signatures within 18 months to push it to a referendum. A double majority of the people and the cantons is required for it to pass.

These popular initiatives often make the biggest headlines overseas: in 2016, for example, a popular initiative to introduce a universal basic income made it to the polls but only 23.1 percent of people voted in favour.

The federal government can also reject popular initiatives in part or in full under certain conditions, and may also put forward counter proposals.

How many referendums are successfully passed?

The Swiss have been called on to vote around 306 times since 1848 for a total of 617 proposals. In total, 299 proposals have been passed while 334 have been rejected. The numbers don’t match up exactly because single initiatives can sometimes include both a proposal and a counter-proposal.

When it comes to popular initiatives, however, the story is quite different. From 1891 to 2016 some 209 popular initiatives were voted on but only 22 were accepted.

Examples of popular initiatives that have somewhat controversially succeeded include the 2009 initiative to ban minarets, which was described as unconstitutional by the Swiss government, and the 2014 anti-mass immigration initiative.

But it should be noted that in cases where popular initiatives fail, they still play an important role in stimulating political debate and create a level of engagement in – and knowledge about –political issues that can be surprising to people from countries where voting is something you do every four years or so.

Another advantage of these popular initiatives is that Swiss political parties must seek consensus not just across party lines, but also in the broader community as new laws can be challenged by the people.

When is the next vote?

The votes take place four times a year. To find out more about the upcoming vote, please check out the following link.

In a classic example of Swiss planning, the dates for upcoming referendums have been set all the way to 2034, although the actual proposals to be voted on have yet to be established.

What is the Landsgemeinde?

In Glarus and Appenzell Innerhoden, voters practice a rare form of democratic engagement called the Landsgemeinde or ‘open-air assembly’ which dates back 600 years.

Every year, voters from across the northeastern demi-canton, or region, of Appenzell Innerhoden flood into the Landsgemeindeplatz to elect their local leaders and judges — not by casting ballots but by raising their hands.

The tradition of the Landsgemeinde, or open-air assembly, dates back to the 14th century, and in Appenzell is held every year on the last Sunday in April.

‘Pure democracy’: What is Switzerland’s Landsgemeinde (open-air assembly)?

INTERVIEW: 'A lot of people think Brexit is done, but it's not for Brits in Europe'

In the early days of 2021, after the United Kingdom had left the EU and completed the final stage of Brexit, many British citizens returned to their home countries in Europe only to face a grilling at the border.

Though the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) technically guaranteed their right to live and work in the countries they’d settled in before Brexit, there was widespread confusion about these fundamental rights and many were treated like new arrivals.

Over time, the chaos at the airports subsided as border officials and airlines were given clearer guidance on the treatment of Brits. But three years later, a number of Brits who live on the continent still face problems when it comes to proving their post-Brexit rights.

This was the reason campaign group British in Europe decided to set up their new EU-funded ICE project. Starting this year in March, it aims to build valuable connections between UK citizens abroad and mentor the next generation of civil rights advocates around the continent. The acronym stands for ‘Inform, Empower, Connect’ and the project’s organisers describe it as “the first project of its kind”.

“It’s a completely innovative project – especially the fact that it’s across so many countries,” Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe and one of the project’s founders, told The Local.

Bringing together groups from 11 EU member states, the project aims to train up volunteers to understand both the Withdrawal Agreement and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as learning skills like advocacy and communication, using real-life civil rights cases that are referred to British in Europe.

“The ultimate goal is to amplify the messages across the wider group,” said Golding. “You start with the volunteers, they go back to their groups, then the people that we train, they go back and train people. Then they pass on that knowledge to the wider groups, on their Facebook accounts and through social media, and hopefully it all snowballs, not just in their countries but across the EU.”

‘Far-reaching repercussions’

So many years after Brexit, it’s hard to believe that there’s still a need for a project like ICE that empowers Brits to protect their rights. Indeed, the future of groups like British in Europe and regional groups like British in Germany and British in Spain felt uncertain just a year or two ago.

But Golding says there are still serious issues cropping up for Brits in several countries around Europe – they just have a different quality to the problems that arose at the start.

“In some ways it’s needed even more because as we predicted right at the beginning, at the first stage of implementation, you’ve got the more routine cases,” she explained.

“What we’re seeing now is not as many cases, but when the cases come up, they’re complex. They can have such far-reaching repercussions on people’s lives. And of course, memories start to fade. A lot of people think Brexit is already done, but it’s not.”

Volunteers in British in Europe ICE project

The volunteers of the British in Europe ICE project pose for a photo at the kick-off meeting in Brussels on May 21st, 2024. Photo courtesy of Jane Golding

Though the rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement apply across the continent, different countries have taken different approaches to implementing them.

That means that while in Germany, for example, UK citizens simply had to declare that they lived in the country, people in neighbouring Denmark had to apply for their rights.

This led to a notorious situation in Denmark in which as many as 2,000 Brits were threatened with deportation after not applying in time or completing the right application process. According to Golding, this had a lot to do with the fact that people who arrived in 2020 weren’t given the same information as other UK migrants who arrived before.

In Sweden, meanwhile, the situation is still difficult for many Brits who lived there prior to Brexit.

“There have been issues with an anomalously high numbers of refusals compared to other countries, and they seem to be taking a very strict approach on late applications,” Golding explained.

Portugal has been another difficult case. Although the country opted for a declaratory system where Brits could simply exchange old residence documents for a new ID card after Brexit, reports suggest that the authorities have taken years to issue these cards, leaving many of the some 34,000 Brits in the country in limbo.

“While people are still waiting to have their status confirmed and have their card in their hand, it’s difficult to access a whole range of services, like health services, or applying for jobs or dealing with the authorities, or even going to the bank,” Golding said. “All of these problems just affect people’s lives.”

A French border guard checks a passport at the border

A French border guard checks a passport at the border. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

There are also concerns about the EU’s new exit and entry system (EES), due to come into force in October, which is based on biometric documentation.

“We still do not have clear data on how many people in declaratory countries like Germany, where it wasn’t compulsory to apply for the card, don’t actually have a card,” Golding said. “How is that going to play out if it’s a document-based digitalised system?”

A lack of support

In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was still available to support NGOs in Europe helping Brits with their migration and civil rights issues. But that temporary funding soon expired, leaving groups like British in Europe largely on their own.

“The whole point is people’s lives change at very different paces,” Golding said. “And now this project is really going to start to pick up some of those cases and report on those issues, which is really crucial and exciting for the precedent that it sets, and it’s very clearly necessary still, because people don’t just sort their lives in the 18 months that the FCDO chose to supply that funding.”

This feeling of being left alone and increasingly isolated from the UK is one that many Brits in Europe have felt in the aftermath of Brexit. But the upcoming UK election on July 4th could be a game-changer.

This time, following a change in the law, Brits who have lived abroad for more than 15 years will be able to vote for the first time.

Polling station in the UK

A polling station in the UK. Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash

When it comes to the election, the message from British in Europe is clear: “Make your voice count now, make your vote count, make sure you use it,” Golding said.

With the June 18th registration deadline fast approaching, BiE is advising UK citizens abroad to apply for a proxy vote as soon as possible, rather than relying on a postal vote from abroad. Since the 15-year rule was abolished on January 16th, more than 100,000 British citizens have registered to vote, according to official statistics. It is unclear how many were registered before the change in the law.

With an estimated 5.5 million Brits currently living abroad – 1.3 million of whom are in the EU – this could have a significant impact on the electoral landscape, Golding says. But most significantly, the change is creating a feeling of connection and belonging that wasn’t there before.

Nurturing this sense of belonging is one of the main goals of ICE.

With these bridges being built, British in Europe hopes to create a network of support that spans across borders.

“Now we’ve met. We’re going to meet,” said Golding. “We know we’re going to meet again in Berlin in October and then we’ll meet again in the new year in 2025 as well. It means a huge amount because even British in Europe, our steering team, we’ve only met physically three times.”

This opens up the possibility of people sharing their knowledge from country to country, Golding explained.

“There is crossover and the reassurance of having that EU wide view and knowing that you’re not alone and knowing that in this country, we managed to get this solution,” she said. “And then you can go back and say to the authorities in your country, well, in that country they did that – all of that helps. It’s really good.”

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