2015 Swiss referendums

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

March referendums

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

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

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

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

1. Electronic voting: Greater security thanks to verifiability Revue, 10 February 2014
2. "Referendums on March 8, 2015 Archived September 23, 2017, at the Wayback Machine Swiss Federal Chancellery
3. 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)