2015 Swiss referendums

Six national referendums were held in Switzerland during 2015, the first of which were held on 8 March.[1]

March referendums

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Two referendums were held on 8 March.[2] The family initiative proposal proposed that child and education allowances should be exempt from income tax,[2] whilst second initiative called for the introduction of a tax on non-renewable energy,[2] with the higher cost of energy consumption compensated by the abolition of VAT.[2] The family initiative was initiated by the Christian Democratic People's Party and the energy initiative was initiated by the Green Liberal Party.[3] The Swiss government recommended the rejection of both initiatives,[2] and both were rejected by voters.

The failed energy initiative received worst vote result for an initiative since 1929.[3]

Results

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Question For Against Invalid/
blank
Total
votes
Registered
voters
Turnout Cantons for Cantons against Result
Votes % Votes % Full Half Full Half
Family initiative 537,795 24.6 1,650,109 75.4 22,987 2,210,891 5,254,965 42.07 0 0 20 6 Rejected
Non-renewable energy tax 175,405 8.0 2,010,326 92.0 24,390 2,210,121 41.06 0 0 20 6 Rejected
Source: Government of Switzerland

June referendums

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Four referendums were held on 14 June 2015, covering a constitutional amendment regarding reproductive medicine and human gene technology, popular initiatives on scholarships and inheritance tax and a modification of the federal law on radio and television reducing the annual licence fee from 462 to 400 Francs.[4]

Results

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Question For Against Invalid/
blank
Total
votes
Registered
voters
Turnout Cantons for Cantons against Result
Votes % Votes % Full Half Full Half
Reproductive medicine/gene technology 1,377,613 61.9 846,865 38.1 66,515 2,290,993 5,265,120 43.5 17 3 3 3 Accepted
Scholarships 610,284 27.5 1,611,911 72.5 65,360 2,287,555 43.4 0 0 20 6 Rejected
Inheritance tax 657,851 29.0 1,613,982 71.0 29,487 2,301,320 43.7 0 0 20 6 Rejected
Federal law on radio and television 1,128,522 50.1 1,124,873 49.9 44,568 2,297,963 43.6 Accepted
Source: Government of Switzerland 1, 2, 3, 4

References

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  1. ^ Electronic voting: Greater security thanks to verifiability Revue, 10 February 2014
  2. ^ a b c d e "Referendums on March 8, 2015 Archived September 23, 2017, at the Wayback Machine Swiss Federal Chancellery
  3. ^ a b Chandrasekhar, Anand (March 9, 2015) - "Centrist Parties Lack ‘Initiative Savviness’". Swissinfo. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  4. ^ Referendums on June 14, 2015 Archived March 31, 2017, at the Wayback Machine Swiss Federal Chancellery (in German)