Referendum turnout statistics show how many eligible voters cast ballots in a particular vote. The Swissvotes dataset figures collected here cover Swiss federal votes from 1880 to 2021, with turnout ranging from 30.35% to 68.10%. Because several questions were decided on the same voting day, one electorate total can appear across multiple entries.
Contents
- How turnout is measured
- The highest turnout figures
- The lowest turnout figures
- Recent Swiss votes
- Multiple questions on one day
- Turnout across the historical record
How turnout is measured
Each percentage below is reported with the number of ballots cast and the number of eligible voters. In this collection, turnout is therefore a participation measure: ballots cast divided by eligible voters, expressed as a percentage. The percentages are retained as supplied by the Swissvotes dataset CSV.
The figures are Swiss national referendum entries, not a combined European series. Dates use the day-month-year format supplied in the source. A voting day may contain several initiatives, acts or related questions, and those questions can share the same eligible-voter total.
The source label for every figure is “Swissvotes dataset CSV.” The supplied provenance identifies the material as legacy research and says it was not independently verified; that status should be kept in mind when using these numbers.
The broad range is substantial. The highest listed figure is 68.10% for the 31 October 1920 vote on the law concerning working time on the railways. The lowest is 30.35% for the 28 November 1981 vote on the continuation of the financial order.
The highest turnout figures
The strongest participation figures in the supplied list are concentrated in the early twentieth century and in the 2021 COVID-19-era votes.
| Date | Referendum or question | Turnout | Ballots cast / eligible voters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31.10.1920 | Gesetz zur Arbeitszeit bei den Eisenbahnen | 68.10% | 656,913 / 964,587 |
| 28.11.2021 | Amendment to the COVID-19 Act (2nd revision) | 65.73% | 3,633,801 / 5,528,244 |
| 28.11.2021 | Nursing initiative | 65.31% | 3,610,590 / 5,528,244 |
| 28.11.2021 | Justice initiative | 64.68% | 3,575,701 / 5,528,244 |
| 30.03.1952 | Landwirtschaftsgesetz | 64.15% | 909,840 / 1,418,381 |
| 30.01.1921 | Initiative «für die Aufhebung der Militärjustiz» | 63.11% | 610,411 / 967,289 |
| 30.01.1921 | Initiative für ein Staatsvertragsreferendum | 63.11% | 610,411 / 967,289 |
The two January 1921 initiatives have identical supplied figures: 610,411 ballots cast from 967,289 eligible voters, producing 63.11% turnout for each entry. That is consistent with their appearing on the same date and does not represent two separate electorates in the supplied record.
The 2021 entries are also grouped on one date. The COVID-19 Act amendment has the highest of the three at 65.73%, followed by the Nursing initiative at 65.31% and the Justice initiative at 64.68%. Their ballot counts differ, while the eligible-voter denominator remains 5,528,244.
Two 1950s entries sit just above 50%. The 29 January 1950 measures to promote residential construction recorded 52.82% turnout, with 736,767 ballots cast from 1,394,970 eligible voters. The 29 October 1944 law on unfair competition recorded 50.92%, with 674,469 ballots cast from 1,324,498 eligible voters.
The lowest turnout figures
Lower participation in the list appears across several decades. The four lowest supplied percentages are below 40%, and three of them are from 2004 or 1998.
The lowest entry is the 28 November 1981 continuation of the financial order: 30.35%, or 1,207,049 ballots cast from 3,976,769 eligible voters. The 29 November 1998 grain article recorded 38.02%, with 1,763,920 ballots cast from 4,638,920 eligible voters. On the same date, the Labour Act recorded 38.11%, the initiative for a reasonable drug policy 38.36%, and financing of public transport 38.31%.
The 28 November 2004 votes were also below 38%. The stem-cell research law recorded 37.04%, with 1,785,215 ballots cast from 4,819,855 eligible voters. The redesign of fiscal equalisation recorded 36.86%, with 1,776,714 ballots cast, while the new financial order recorded 36.84%, with 1,775,770 ballots cast. All three used the same eligible-voter total.
Another low-turnout cluster appears on 29 May 1960. The continuation of temporary price-control measures recorded 38.99%, based on 580,472 ballots cast from 1,488,779 eligible voters. In 1980, four questions held on 30 November ranged from 41.87% to 42.06%: the abolition of the cantonal share of stamp duties was 41.87%, the reduction of the cantonal share of alcohol revenue was 41.89%, the revision of the bread-grain order was 41.92%, and the Gurten and protective-helmet obligation was 42.06%.
Recent Swiss votes
The most recent date in this collection is 28 November 2021. Its three entries are all above 64%, making that voting day the most prominent recent high-turnout group in the supplied figures.
On 29 November 2020, turnout was lower. The initiative for a ban on financing war-material manufacturers recorded 46.95%, with 2,579,954 ballots cast from 5,495,345 eligible voters. The responsible-business initiative protecting human rights and the environment recorded 47.04%, with 2,584,840 ballots cast from the same electorate.
The 30 November 2014 entries were close to 50%. The Gold initiative recorded 49.81%, based on 2,613,900 ballots cast from 5,247,512 eligible voters. The initiative to halt overpopulation and preserve the natural environment recorded 49.98%, with 2,622,700 ballots cast. The initiative for abolition of lump-sum taxation recorded 49.90%, with 2,618,768 ballots cast. All three percentages use the same supplied denominator.
On 30 November 2010, the equitable-taxes initiative recorded 52.36%, or 2,662,110 ballots cast from 5,084,053 eligible voters. The tie-breaker question on the Expulsion Initiative and counter-proposal, the counter-proposal itself, and the Expulsion Initiative each recorded 52.93%, with 2,690,799 ballots cast from that electorate.
The 29 November 2009 voting day was also above 52%. The minaret-construction ban recorded 53.76%, the ban on exports of war material 53.39%, and the special financing programme for air-traffic tasks 52.63%. Their common denominator was 5,039,676 eligible voters, while the supplied ballot counts were 2,709,287, 2,690,488 and 2,652,205 respectively.
Multiple questions on one day
Comparing questions from the same voting day helps separate topic-level differences from changes in the electorate total. The following groups show how close the reported percentages can be when several questions share a date.
On 30 November 1993, five entries all sit between 45.38% and 45.50%. The initiative to reduce tobacco problems was 45.50%, with 2,077,305 ballots cast. The initiative to reduce alcohol problems was 45.49%, with 2,076,808 ballots cast. The federal resolution on special consumption taxes was 45.39%, with 2,072,208 ballots cast; the VAT percentage for AHV was also 45.39%, with 2,072,283 ballots cast; and the 6.5% VAT rate entry was 45.38%, with 2,071,952 ballots cast. Each used 4,565,751 eligible voters.
The 30 September 1956 entries were similarly close. The federal-assembly spending resolutions recorded 43.83%, or 639,896 ballots cast from 1,459,824 eligible voters. The revision of the bread-grain order recorded 43.95%, with 641,604 ballots cast from the same denominator.
On 30 July 1882, the gap between two questions was wider. The Epidemics Act recorded 50.75%, with 322,367 ballots cast from 635,249 eligible voters. The decree on protection of inventions recorded 46.95%, with 298,274 ballots cast from that same electorate.
The 28 November 2008 group ranged only from 47.14% to 47.64%. The Narcotics Act was 47.14%; the initiative for a sensible hemp policy with effective protection of minors was 47.34%; the environmental organisations’ associative right of appeal initiative was 47.22%; the flexible-retirement-age initiative was 47.64%; and the initiative on removing statutory limitations for sexual and pornographic offences against children was 47.52%. The five ballot counts ranged from 2,355,412 to 2,380,196, and all used 4,996,626 eligible voters.
Turnout across the historical record
The oldest entries here date from 31 October 1880, when the banknote monopoly vote recorded 59.42% turnout: 381,225 ballots cast from 641,576 eligible voters. On 29 September 1895, the monopoly on matches recorded 48.63%, with 335,818 ballots cast from 690,592 eligible voters.
The 1920 and 1921 entries show some of the collection’s highest percentages, while the 1940s and 1950s include both moderate and high participation. The 30 March 1952 Landwirtschaftsgesetz figure was 64.15%. The 29 October 1944 unfair-competition law figure was 50.92%. The 29 January 1950 residential-construction measures figure was 52.82%.
The 1980s and 1990s entries include several figures in the low-to-mid 40s, as well as the 1981 low of 30.35%. The 29 November 1998 group remained below 39%, while the 28 November 1993 group was just above 45%.
Taken together, these Swiss referendum turnout statistics describe a wide historical spread rather than a single typical result. The supplied entries include turnout above 60% in 1920, 1921, 1952 and 2021; results around 50% in several nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-century votes; and results below 40% in 1960, 1981, 1998 and 2004. Each figure remains tied to its stated Swiss voting date, question and eligible-voter count.