Do most voters in the United States really consider Political Oddities in Switzerland important?”
Direct democracy in Switzerland In Switzerland, single majorities are sufficient at the town, city, and state (canton and half-canton) level, but at the national level, “double majorities” are required on constitutional matters. The intent of the double majorities is simply to ensure any citizen-made law’s legitimacy (Kobach, 1993). Double majorities are, first, the approval by a majority of those voting, and, second, a majority of states in which a majority of those voting approve the ballot measure. A citizen-proposed law (i.e. initiative) cannot be passed in Switzerland at the national level if a majority of the people approve, but a majority of the states disapprove (Kobach, 1993). For referenda or proposition in general terms (like the principle of a general revision of the Constitution), the majority of those voting is enough (Swiss constitution, 2005). In 1890, when the provisions for Swiss national citizen lawmaking were being debated by civil society and government, the Swiss
In Switzerland, voters are in permanent opposition to parliament. But there are other oddities as well. German and French enforced in the middle of a Swiss town. There are states where voting is done at a general gathering of the population. And you might get fined twice for the same car accident. I pick up the thread where I cut it off in my last article Six Political Oddities of Switzerland Most People Don’t Know to explain a major oddity in Swiss politics. As all major political parties are part of government, no parliamentary opposition exists. But perversely, the voters are in permanent opposition to parliament. And these are the processes by which they may make use of their political rights: If parliament passes a law, organisations, parties, or individuals opposed to that law have 100 days time to collect 50,000 signatures of voters and to deposit them with the Chancellery Bundeskanzleramt. The law then has to be put to a vote and is meanwhile put on hold. If the voters decide n
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