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A political-economic analysis of Swiss referendums 1848 to 2022: turnout, acceptance rates and the double-majority threshold

Madeleine O. Hosli et al.

Constitutional Political Economy2025https://doi.org/10.1007/s10602-025-09468-1article
AJG 1ABDC B
Weight
0.41

Abstract

This paper explores the evolution of voter turnout, acceptance rates, and the double majority requirement in Swiss national referendums from 1848 to 2022. Given the extensive time frame, the study highlights key developments such as the expansion of voting rights for women, the lowering of the voting age to 18, the varying population growth across cantons (the electoral districts relevant for the double majority), and the evolving costs associated with referendums over time, including the signature requirement relative to the population. Through an analysis of relevant figures and data, supported by t-tests, we discover that, despite these important changes and a substantial rise in the number of referendums in the past three decades, voter turnout, the acceptance of proposals, and the thresholds for the double majority clause have remained remarkably stable.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s10602-025-09468-1

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@article{madeleine2025,
  title        = {{A political-economic analysis of Swiss referendums 1848 to 2022: turnout, acceptance rates and the double-majority threshold}},
  author       = {Madeleine O. Hosli et al.},
  journal      = {Constitutional Political Economy},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s10602-025-09468-1},
}

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A political-economic analysis of Swiss referendums 1848 to 2022: turnout, acceptance rates and the double-majority threshold

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Evidence weight

0.41

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.25 × 0.4 = 0.10
M · momentum0.55 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.