Having a say: rights and obligations · Initiative and referendum
Majority of the people and majority of the cantons
Topic
In some popular votes it is not enough for more than half of the voters to say yes. A majority of the cantons is also needed. This is called the double majority: majority of the people and majority of the cantons.
The majority of the people counts all votes in the whole of Switzerland. For the majority of the cantons, you count how each canton voted. The result in the canton is its cantonal vote. The 20 cantons each have one full vote, the 6 former half-cantons (for example Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft) each have half a vote. That makes 23 votes.
The double majority is needed for popular initiatives and for all amendments of the Federal Constitution. If one of the two majorities is missing, the proposal is rejected. For an optional referendum against a law, on the other hand, the majority of the people is enough. In this way the cantons with a large population cannot simply outvote the small cantons on the Constitution.
Memory aid: «Stände» is an old word for cantons. That is also why the Council of States is called Ständerat.
Key terms
- Volksmehr
- Majority of the people: more than half of all valid votes in the whole of Switzerland say yes.
- Ständemehr
- Majority of the cantons: the majority of cantons votes yes.
- doppeltes Mehr
- Double majority: majority of the people and majority of the cantons together, needed for initiatives and constitutional amendments.
Exam questions on this topic
- In votes, what does «majority of the cantons» (Ständemehr) mean?Correct answer: B, majority of the cantons
- When is an initiative at federal level accepted?Correct answer: C, With a majority of the people and a majority of the cantons