2017 Swiss referendums

Seven national referendums were held in Switzerland during 2017. Polling took place on 12 February, 21 May and 24 September,[1] whilst no referendum was scheduled for the November date.[2]

February referendums

Three referendums were held on 12 February:[3]

• One on the federal decree of 30 September 2016, to allow easier naturalisation of third generation immigrants[4]
• One on the federal decree of 30 September 2016, to create a fund for national roads and urban infrastructure[5]
• One on the federal law of 17 June 2016, to overhaul the corporate tax code to attract and retain international firms[6]

Results

Question	For		Against		Invalid/ blank	Total votes	Registered voters	Turnout	Cantons for		Cantons against		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%					Full	Half	Full	Half
Easier naturalisation of third-generation immigrants	1,499,627	60.4	982,844	39.6	20,979	2,503,450	5,344,186	46.8	15	4	5	2	Approved
Road and infrastructure fund	1,503,746	61.9	923,783	38.1	63,791	2,491,320		46.6	20	6	0	0	Approved
Corporate tax code	989,311	40.9	1,428,162	59.1	73,312	2,490,785		46.6					Rejected
Source: Federal Chancellery of Switzerland 1, 2, 3

May referendum

Results by canton

One referendum was held on 21 May on whether to accept the new Energy Act, establishing the Energy Strategy 2050, which seeks to phase out nuclear energy and increase renewable energy and energy efficiency.[7][8][9] The plan was opposed by the Swiss People's Party, which launched the optional referendum against it.[8] The Energy Act was approved by 58% of voters.

Question	For		Against		Invalid/ blank	Total votes	Registered voters	Turnout	Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Energy Act	1,322,263	58.2	949,053	41.8	25,980	2,297,296	5,356,538	42.9	Approved
Source: Federal Chancellery of Switzerland

September referendums

On 24 September referendums were held on:

• A Federal Decree on Food Security[10][11]
• A Federal Decree on Additional Funding for OASI Pensions[12]
• A Federal Act on the 2020 Pension Reforms[13]

The latter two referendums were related, and the Federal Act on the 2020 Pension Reforms would only have gone into effect if the proposed VAT increase was also accepted by voters.[14] The pension reform would have raised the women's retirement age to 65.[15] The proposed reforms were supported by centre and left-of-centre parties and opposed by right-of-centre parties such as the FDP.The Liberals and the Swiss People's Party.[16][17][18]

Question	For		Against		Invalid/ blank	Total votes	Registered voters	Turnout	Cantons for		Cantons against		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%					Full	Half	Full	Half
Food security	1,943,180	78.7	524,919	21.3	63,110	2,531,209	5,372,748	47.1	20	6	0	0	Approved
Additional funding for OASI pensions	1,254,795	50.0	1,257,156	50.0	34,435	2,546,386		47.4	9	1	11	5	Rejected
2020 pension reforms	1,186,203	47.3	1,320,952	52.7	38,742	2,545,897		47.4					Rejected
Source: Federal Chancellery of Switzerland 1, 2, 3

References

1. Daten der nächsten eidgenössischen Volksabstimmungen Archived 2017-02-28 at the Wayback Machine Die Schweizer Behörden
2. Pas de votation populaire fédérale le 26 novembre 2017 Federal Council of Switzerland, 5 July 2017
3. "Abstimmungsvorlagen für den 12. Februar 2017". admin.ch (in German). Retrieved 16 January 2017.
4. Geiser, Urs (29 December 2016). "Making it Easier for Young Foreigners to Become Swiss". Swissinfo. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
5. Siegenthaler, Peter (30 December 2016). "Wheels Put in Motion for Road Financing". Swissinfo. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
6. Allen, Matthew (5 January 2017). "Voters to Decide on the Price of Retaining Foreign Firms". Swissinfo. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
7. Energy strategy 2050, Swiss Federal Office of Energy, Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (page visited on 21 May 2017).
8. Jorio, Luigi (10 April 2017). "Voting on Switzerland's Energy Future". Swissinfo. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
9. "Energiegesetz (EnG)". admin.ch (in German). Retrieved 18 April 2017.
10. "Federal Decree on Food Security (direct counter-proposal to the Popular Initiative 'For food security', which has now been withdrawn)". admin.ch. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
11. Fenazzi, Sonia (August 22, 2017). "Enshrining Food Security, From the Farm to the Fork". Swissinfo. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
12. "Federal Decree on Additional Funding for OASI Pensions by increasing the Rate of VAT / Federal Act on the 2020 Pension Reforms". Retrieved 4 September 2017.
13. "Federal Decree on Additional Funding for OASI Pensions by increasing the Rate of VAT / Federal Act on the 2020 Pension Reforms". Retrieved 4 September 2017.
14. "Swiss Vote Against Plan to Save Pensions". The Local. September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
15. Shields, Michael (September 24, 2017). "Swiss Voters Reject Raising Women's Retirement Age". Reuters. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
16. Mombelli, Armando (August 10, 2017). "Can 'Old Age Security 2020' Guarantee Pensions?". Swissinfo. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
17. Geiser, Urs (September 24, 2017). "Major Pension Reform Fails In Nationwide Ballot". Swissinfo. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
18. "Swiss Voters Nix Pension Reform In National Referendum". Deutsche Welle. September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2017.