Comment by m_mueller
5 years ago
As a Swiss I agree that compatibility with the constitution is a major problem of referendums, somewhat less so of parliament decisions. One measure I'd like to see is to (a) forbid the government to send the people anything other than the proposed legal text (as other material is often very manipulative) and (b) extend the options for answering to yes/no/I don't understand. Third option in enough quantity could then trigger another round of making the text more clear and succinct and then trying again on the next voting Sunday.
That sounds exploitable. People would strategically vote "I don't understand" to delay the initiative.
Why do that instead of just "no"?
Because likely to elicit reworking of the proposal you would need less than 50% of the vote. To defeat the proposal you need at least 50%.
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