Swiss Civic Rights and Duties: Voting, Elections, Initiatives, Referenda and Service
What this domain tests
You must know who may vote, what the three political rights are, how many signatures and how much time an initiative or referendum needs, and which obligations Swiss residents carry.
Political rights
Articles 34 and 38 BV guarantee political rights to Swiss citizens aged 18 who are not permanently incapacitated. The rights are: to vote in elections, to sign and vote on initiatives and referenda, and to be elected to public office. In Basel-Stadt women obtained the cantonal vote in 1966, five years before the federal franchise in 1971. Foreign residents cannot vote in Basel-Stadt, unlike in Neuchâtel and Jura, where communal voting rights exist.
Federal instruments
- Popular initiative: 100,000 valid signatures within 18 months to propose a constitutional amendment. It is always decided by a double majority, people and cantons.
- Obligatory referendum: automatically held for constitutional amendments and for accession to supranational organisations; needs double majority.
- Optional referendum: 50,000 signatures within 100 days against a new federal law; a simple majority of voters suffices. The cantonal instruments in Basel-Stadt are modelled on these but with much lower thresholds, because the electorate is small.
Duties
Swiss men are subject to military service; those unfit or exempt pay the Militärpflichtersatz (a percentage of taxable income). Civilian service is an alternative and lasts about 1.5 times as long as the military service replaced. Everyone pays taxes, children attend school, and adults may be called to militia office such as serving as a Friedensrichter.
Worked example
A committee hands in 104,000 valid signatures for an initiative to cap the number of cross-border commuters. Parliament rejects it and proposes a counter-proposal. Reasoning: both texts go to the vote, and because the initiative changes the Constitution it needs a double majority – 50 percent of voters plus a majority of the 23 cantonal votes, where the six half-cantons count half. In Basel-Stadt a cantonal initiative would require far fewer signatures and only the cantonal electorate. The counter-proposal may be put as a subsidiary question if the initiative wins.
Traps that cost marks
Swapping 18 months for 100 days is the most common error. A simple popular majority is not enough for a constitutional amendment. Initiatives are always constitutional amendments at federal level, referenda are votes on existing texts. Signing an initiative does not commit you to vote yes.