Participation

The Swiss people vote around four times a year on about 20 issues at a national level. There may be even more referendums in cantons and communes, touching on very local matters, such as whether to buy particular pictures for the city museum, when local shops can open, or a change in land use. Local authorities try to combine their own votes with the national ones, so that electors do not have to turn out too often.

In a few cantons, voters still vote on every new law or amendment passed by the cantonal government, whether or not it is controversial.

Only about half of all proposals are accepted by the people in referendums and only one tenth in popular initiatives.

Voter participation is usually around 40 per cent. Moves are now underway to experiment with electronic voting, in the hope that this will raise participation.

A few cantons have granted long-term resident foreigners the right to vote, mainly only at communal level.