Editing Direct democracy (section)

===Switzerland===
[[File: Swiss voting material.jpg|thumb|In [[Voting in Switzerland|Switzerland]], with no need to register, every citizen receives the [[ballot papers]] and information brochure for each vote and election and can return it by post. Switzerland has various directly democratic instruments; votes are organized about four times a year. Here, the papers received by every citizen of [[Bern#Politics|Berne]] in November 2008 about five national, two cantonal, four municipal referendums, and two elections (government and parliament of the City of Berne) of 23 competing parties to take care of at the same time.]]
{{Main|Politics of Switzerland|Voting in Switzerland}}
{{Further|Landsgemeinde|Federal popular initiative}}

The pure form of direct democracy exists only in the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Cantons of Switzerland|cantons]] of [[Appenzell Innerrhoden]] and [[Canton of Glarus|Glarus]].<ref name=Golay/> The [[Swiss Confederation]] is a semi-direct democracy (representative democracy with strong instruments of direct democracy).<ref name=Golay/> The nature of direct democracy in Switzerland is fundamentally complemented by its federal governmental structures (in [[German language|German]] also called the [[:de:Subsidiaritätsprinzip<!-- please note that the English WP article about Subsidiarity does not (yet) reflect/discuss the political/governmental nature in a satisfiying quality, therefore referring to the German Article here -->|Subsidiaritätsprinzip]]).{{sfnp|Hirschbühl|2011a}}{{sfnp|Hirschbühl|2011b}}{{sfnp|Hirschbühl|2011c}}{{sfnp|Hirschbühl|2011d}}

Most western countries have representative systems.<ref name=Golay>Vincent Golay and Mix et Remix, ''Swiss political institutions'', Éditions loisirs et pédagogie, 2008. {{ISBN|978-2-606-01295-3}}.</ref> [[Switzerland]] is a rare example of a country with instruments of direct democracy (at the levels of the municipalities, [[Cantons of Switzerland|cantons]], and [[Politics of Switzerland|federal state]]). Citizens have more power than in a representative democracy. On any political level citizens can propose changes to the constitution ([[Popular initiative (Switzerland)|popular initiative]]) or ask for an [[optional referendum]] to be held on any law voted by the [[Federal Assembly (Switzerland)|federal]], [[cantonal]] parliament and/or [[Municipalities of Switzerland|municipal]] legislative body.<ref name=refdum>{{cite web |url=https://www.ch.ch/en/political-system/political-rights/referendums/mandatory-and-optional-referendums/ |title=Referendums |publisher=Swiss Confederation |website=ch.ch – A service of the Confederation, cantons and communes |location=Berne, Switzerland |access-date=2017-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110092314/https://www.ch.ch/en/political-system/political-rights/referendums/mandatory-and-optional-referendums/ |archive-date=2017-01-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The list for [[mandatory referendum|mandatory]] or optional referendums on each political level are generally much longer in Switzerland than in any other country; for example, any amendment to the constitution must automatically be voted on by the Swiss electorate and cantons, on cantonal/communal levels often any financial decision of a certain substantial amount decreed by legislative and/or executive bodies as well.<ref name=refdum/>

Swiss citizens vote regularly on any kind of issue on every political level—such as financial approvals of a schoolhouse or the building of a new street, or the change of the policy regarding sexual work, or on constitutional changes, or on the foreign policy of Switzerland—four times a year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.swissinfo.ch/directdemocracy/checks-and-balances_the-swiss-vote-more-than-any-other-country/36286970 |title=The Swiss vote more than any other country |author=Julia Slater |publisher=swissinfo.ch – the international service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation |date=28 June 2013 |location=Berne, Switzerland |access-date=2015-07-27 |archive-date=2017-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713231924/http://www.swissinfo.ch/directdemocracy/checks-and-balances_the-swiss-vote-more-than-any-other-country/36286970 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Between January 1995 and June 2005, Swiss citizens voted 31 times, on 103 federal questions besides many more cantonal and municipal questions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.swissinfo.ch/directdemocracy/explore-600-national-votes_how-direct-democracy-has-grown-over-the-decades/41481992 |title=How direct democracy has grown over the decades |author=Duc-Quang Nguyen |publisher=swissinfo.ch – the international service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation |date=17 June 2015 |location=Berne, Switzerland |access-date=2015-07-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921071817/http://www.swissinfo.ch/directdemocracy/explore-600-national-votes_how-direct-democracy-has-grown-over-the-decades/41481992 |archive-date=21 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> During the same period, French citizens participated in only two referendums.<ref name=Golay/>

In [[Switzerland]], simple majorities are sufficient at the municipal and [[cantons of Switzerland|cantonal]] level, at the federal level [[Double majority|double majorities]] are required on constitutional issues.<ref name="Kobach1993" />

A double majority requires approval by a majority of individuals voting, and also by a majority of cantons. Thus, in Switzerland, a citizen-proposed amendment to the federal constitution (i.e. [[Popular initiative (Switzerland)|popular initiative]]) cannot be passed at the federal level if a majority of the people approve but a majority of the cantons disapprove.<ref name="Kobach1993" /> For referendums or propositions in general terms (like the principle of a general revision of the Constitution), a majority of those voting is sufficient (Swiss Constitution, 2005).

In 1890, when the provisions for Swiss national citizen lawmaking were being debated by civil society and government, the Swiss adopted the idea of double majorities from the [[United States Congress]], in which House votes were to represent the people and Senate votes were to represent the [[U.S. state|states]].<ref name="Kobach1993" /> According to its supporters, this "legitimacy-rich" approach to national citizen lawmaking has been very successful. [[Kris Kobach]], former Kansas elected official, claims that Switzerland has had tandem successes both socially and economically which are matched by only a few other nations. Kobach states at the end of his book, "Too often, observers deem Switzerland an oddity among political systems. It is more appropriate to regard it as a pioneer." Finally, the Swiss political system, including its direct democratic devices in a [[multi-level governance]] context, becomes increasingly interesting for scholars of [[European Union]] integration.<ref>Trechsel (2005)</ref>