3 Type and trigger
referendum, Centre for Research on Direct Democracy (C2D), direct democracy, report, worldwide
3.1 Type of referendums
Figure 3.1 compares the proportion of different types of referendums at the national and subnational (cantonal) levels in Switzerland.
As can be seen in Panel (a), mandatory referendums make up a significant portion, accounting for 29.3% of the total. Optional referendums are similarly prominent, constituting 30.6% of all national referendums. Citizens’ initiatives make up 33.9%, a substantial share, reflecting the active role of citizen-driven processes in Switzerland’s direct democracy, despite their rather low acceptance rate. Counter proposals and governmental referendums are less frequent, accounting for 6.0% and 0.1% respectively.
In comparison to the national level, the cantonal level shown in Panel (b) exhibits a very significant domination of mandatory referendums, which represent over half of all subnational referendums (52.7%), underscoring the centrality of constitutionally mandated issues at the cantonal level. Optional referendums follow with 13.5%, while citizens’ initiatives represent 16%, showing that citizen-initiated processes are also an important part of cantonal democracy. Citizens’ assemblies, which play a more traditional and localized role, account for 11.1% of the subnational total. Counter proposals and governmental referendums represent smaller shares, with 3.7% and 2.9% respectively.
These charts highlight the differences between national and subnational referendums. Nationally, citizens’ initiatives and optional referendums are more common, while at the cantonal level, mandatory referendums and citizens’ assemblies are more dominant. However, as seen before, there is variance between cantons on several dimensions. This only shows an overall picture of referendums at the cantonal level and should not be used to make inferences about single cantons.
3.2 Referendums by institutional trigger type
Similarly to the depiction before, Figure 3.2 presents two donut charts, this time showing the distribution of referendums by institutional trigger type for national and subnational referendums in Switzerland. Visible from Panel (a), the majority of referendums (66%) are triggered through bottom-up mechanisms on the national level, reflecting the strong role of citizen initiatives in Switzerland’s direct democracy. Automatic referendums, triggered by constitutional or legal requirements, make up 27% of the total. Top-down referendums, initiated by the government or parliament, account for a smaller share of only 7% of national referendums.
This distribution stands in much contrast to the cantonal level, depicted in Panel (b). Automatic referendums dominate, representing 57% of the total. Bottom-up referendums, initiated by citizens, account for 29%, showing that citizen-driven referendums also play a significant role at the cantonal level. Top-down referendums, initiated by cantonal governments or legislatures, make up 14% of subnational referendums, reflecting a somewhat larger role for governmental initiatives compared to the national level.
These charts highlight the differing dynamics between national and subnational referendums in Switzerland. While bottom-up mechanisms are dominant at the national level, cantonal referendums rely more heavily on automatic triggers. It is however important, to point again to the variance between cantons.