Votes
The electorate decides on political issues up to four times a year. Votes are held on popular initiatives and on certain parliamentary decisions, in most cases having to do with constitutional or legislative amendments.
Changing the Constitution or putting a stop to a new law
Changing the Constitution or putting a stop to a new law
Changing the Constitution
In
Switzerland, every amendment to the Constitution must be put to a vote
(mandatory referendum) – whether the proposed amendment was passed by Parliament
or put forward by popular initiative. For a new constitutional article to come
into force, the consent of a majority of the People (popular majority) and the
cantons (majority of the cantons) is needed ( double majority). A popular
vote is also ‘mandatory’ for Switzerland to join an organisation for collective
security or a supranational community (e.g. the UN or the EU). Switzerland can
only join such an organisation or community if a double majority is achieved.
Putting a stop to a new law
If Parliament passes
a new law or approves an international treaty, those eligible to vote may
request a referendum against it (optional referendum). If they are successful, a referendum is held in
which the law or treaty in question is put to a vote. A majority of voters must
approve the law or referendum for it to come into force (simple majority).
Information
- Explanatory pamphlets are sent by post to eligible
voters
- ‘VoteInfo’ app
- www.admin.ch
- www.ch.ch/en/demokratie
- Explanatory videos
Instruments of direct democracy
Instruments of direct democracy
Popular initiative
Anyone who has the
right to vote in Switzerland can launch or sign a popular initiative to amend
the Constitution. For a vote to be held on a popular initiative, 100,000 valid signatures
must be collected within a period of 18 months.
Popular
initiatives were introduced at federal level in 1891.
226 have been voted on since then. 24 have been accepted.
As of 31
December 2021, 10 initiatives were at the
signature-gathering stage, 8 were pending
before the Federal Council or Parliament, and 2 were
ready to be put to a vote.
Optional referendum
To bring
a decision made by Parliament to a vote (e.g. to stop a new law from passing),
anyone who has the right to vote can launch an optional referendum. To do so,
they must collect 50,000 valid signatures within 100 days. An optional
referendum is also held upon request by eight cantons (‘referendum requested by
the cantons’).
The
optional referendum was introduced in 1874.
203 have
been held since then; 84 of the proposals
were rejected by voters.
As of 31
December 2021, the referendum period was running for 38 federal acts and decrees. Signatures were being gathered for a vote on 5 proposals.
Effects of initiatives and referendums
Even if
most initiatives fail and only very few laws are stopped by a referendum, these
two instruments can still have a major impact:
· They
lead to public discussions on the topics they involve.
· They
can influence legislation: groups that are likely to launch a referendum are
taken into consideration in the drafting of new laws.
· The
Federal Council and Parliament will sometimes make counter-proposals to
initiatives, to address the initiative’s concerns in a different way.
2022 voting dates
2022 voting dates
Votes are scheduled to take place on the following Sundays in 2021:
13 February, 15 May, 25 September and 27 November
Votes held in 2021
Votes held in 2021
7 March
Federal popular initiative: 'Yes to a ban on full facial coverings'
Yes 51.2%
Federal Act on Electronic Identification Services (E-ID Act)
No 64.4%
Economic Partnership Agreement with Indonesia
Yes 51.7%
13 June
Federal Popular Initiative: 'For clean drinking water and healthy food – No subsidies for using pesticides and prophylactic antibiotics'
No 60.7%
Federal Popular Initiative: 'For a Switzerland with no synthetic pesticides'
No 60.6 %
Federal Act on the Statutory Principles for Federal Council Ordinances on Combating the COVID-19 Epidemic (COVID-19 Act)
Yes 60.2%
Federal Act on the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (CO2 Act)
No 51.6%
Federal Act on Police Counterterrorism Measures
Yes 56.6%
26 September
Federal Popular Initiative: 'Reduce tax on salaries, tax capital fairly' (99% Initiative)
No 64.9%
Amendment to the Swiss Civil Code (Marriage for all)
Yes 64.1%
28 November
Federal Popular Initiative: 'For better nursing care'
Yes 61%
Federal popular initiative: ‘Appointing federal judges by random selection' (Justice Initiative)
No 68.1%
Amendment to the Federal Act on the Statutory Principles for Federal Council Ordinances on Combating the COVID-19 Epidemic (COVID-19 Act)
Yes 62%
