Editing Democracy (section)

=====Semi-direct=====
Some modern democracies that are predominantly representative in nature also heavily rely upon forms of political action that are directly democratic. These democracies, which combine elements of representative democracy and direct democracy, are termed ''semi-direct democracies'' or ''participatory democracies''. Examples include Switzerland and some [[U.S. state]]s, where frequent use is made of [[referendum]]s and [[initiatives]].

The [[Swiss confederation]] is a semi-direct democracy.<ref name="Golay" /> At the federal level, citizens can propose changes to the constitution ([[federal popular initiative]]) or ask for a [[Optional referendum|referendum]] to be held on any law voted by the [[Federal Assembly (Switzerland)|parliament]].<ref name="Golay" /> Between January 1995 and June 2005, Swiss citizens voted 31 times, to answer 103 questions (during the same period, French citizens participated in only two referendums).<ref name="Golay" /> Although in the past 120 years less than 250 initiatives have been put to referendum.<ref>{{Citation|last=Serdült|first=Uwe|title=Referendums in Switzerland|date=2014|url=https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137314703_4|work=Referendums Around the World: The Continued Growth of Direct Democracy|pages=65–121|editor-last=Qvortrup|editor-first=Matt|place=London|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|doi=10.1057/9781137314703_4|isbn=978-1-137-31470-3|access-date=2022-06-17}}</ref>

Examples include the extensive use of [[referendum]]s in the US state of [[California]], which is a state that has more than 20 million voters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3985561|title=Article on direct democracy by Imraan Buccus|publisher=Themercury.co.za|access-date=22 August 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117121519/http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3985561|archive-date=17 January 2010}}</ref>

In [[New England]], [[town meeting]]s are often used, especially in rural areas, to manage local government. This creates a hybrid form of government, with a local [[direct democracy]] and a representative state government. For example, most [[Vermont]] towns hold annual town meetings in March in which town officers are elected, budgets for the town and schools are voted on, and citizens have the opportunity to speak and be heard on political matters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sec.state.vt.us/townmeeting/citizens_guide.html|title=A Citizen's Guide To Vermont Town Meeting|date=July 2008|access-date=12 October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805023214/http://www.sec.state.vt.us/TownMeeting/citizens_guide.html|archive-date=5 August 2012}}</ref>