Can a whole country vote on its own laws? How Switzerland does it

Three ways a Swiss voter makes law

Switzerland still has a parliament and a government. On top of them sit three tools that hand the final say to voters.

Tool	Since	How it starts	What wins
Mandatory referendum	1848	Automatic for any change to the constitution and some treaties	A majority of voters and a majority of cantons
Optional referendum	1874	50,000 signatures within 100 days of parliament passing a law	A majority of voters
Popular initiative	1891	100,000 signatures within 18 months, for a constitutional amendment citizens wrote themselves	A majority of voters and a majority of cantons

The optional referendum is a veto: any law parliament passes can be put to the people if enough of them ask. The initiative sets the agenda: citizens can put a question on the ballot that parliament never raised.

How often they vote

The federal government counts 331 national voting days since 1848. Each day usually carries several questions, plus cantonal and local ones. By early 2025 the Federal Statistical Office recorded 242 mandatory referendums (73% accepted), 215 optional referendums (58% accepted) and 236 popular initiatives. Only about one initiative in ten passes.

A failed initiative still does work. Parliament often answers one with a milder counter-proposal, which goes on the same ballot, so the idea gets debated either way.

What voters are told

About three weeks before each vote, every voter receives an official booklet by post. It explains each question in plain language and prints the arguments of the committee behind the initiative or referendum next to the government's own view. Most Swiss vote by post.

What the evidence shows

Trust

In the OECD's 2023 trust survey, 62% of people in Switzerland had high or moderately high trust in their national government, against an OECD average of 39%. That is a correlation, not proof that referendums cause the trust, but it is a large gap.

Debt

In 2001, about 85% of voters approved a constitutional "debt brake", which in normal years caps federal spending at structural revenue. It took effect in 2003. Federal debt fell by about CHF 27 billion between 2003 and 2019, and federal debt sits around 30% of GDP. Economists who studied Swiss towns found lower public debt where voters must approve budget deficits (Feld & Kirchgässner, 2001).

Happiness

A well-known study found people in cantons with stronger direct-democracy rights reported higher life satisfaction (Frey & Stutzer, 2000). A later study with better data found the link disappears once you account for which language region people live in (Dorn et al., 2008). This one is unsettled.

Where it fails

Minorities can be outvoted

In November 2009, 57.5% of voters and most cantons approved a ban on building new minarets. The government and parliament had urged a No. The European Court of Human Rights declined to hear challenges in 2011, because the applicants had not shown they were directly harmed. Nothing in the system stopped a majority restricting a religious minority.

Change can take generations

Swiss men voted women the federal vote only on 7 February 1971, by 65.7%. The last canton, Appenzell Innerrhoden, held out until the Federal Supreme Court forced it in 1990. When the people hold the veto, reform waits until a majority of voters, not just a majority of politicians, agrees.

Turnout is often low

Many votes draw well under half of voters, rising for questions people care about. Low-turnout decisions can hand weight to whoever organises best.

Could it work elsewhere?

Australia already holds referendums, but only on questions parliament chooses: 45 proposals since 1901, eight carried. Citizens cannot start one. Supporters point out that compulsory voting would remove the low-turnout problem. Critics point to the minaret vote and the 1971 date, and argue that courts and parliaments protect minorities better than ballots. Both sides can find evidence in Switzerland. What the Swiss record does settle is that a modern, diverse country of several million people can vote on its own laws several times a year without the system breaking.

Check it yourself

• Every Swiss federal vote, with results, is listed on the federal government's popular votes page (admin.ch).
• The OECD trust survey country notes let you compare your own country with Switzerland.
• The Australian Electoral Commission lists every referendum since 1901 and its result.