Turnout Apologies

BERN, Switzerland -- As a group of journalists and I (all of us cover direct democracy) make our way around this country by train and by bus on our way to a conference Wednesday, we keep meeting Swiss who boast -- politely -- about their direct democracy. They describe it as frustrating, problematic, but also as essential part of their political culture. There's one topic, however that they seem sheepish about: voter turnout.

It's low, very low. In Sunday's referendum and initiative elections in the canton of Zurich, the nation's largest, voter turnout came in at just 35 percent. And Denise Meyer, an election official there, described that as typical. In Uri, where direct democracy is a passion, a top canton minister described a turnout of 45 percent as pretty good.

The Swiss offer some excuses, but the problem seems to be that their direct democracy is so common a part of life, it doesn't inspire voters to the polls. Swiss voters often cast ballots as many as four times a year on referenda and initiatives. High turnout elections usually only involve high-profile issues -- anything having to do with getting the traditionally neutral country closer to Europe. Otherwise, most people stay home. The Swiss certainly make it easy to vote -- by mail, by email (and sometimes by text message, though I'll have a post later on the problems with this). and at the polls -- but making it easy doesn't bring folks out. Even here, it's the heat of controversy -- not civic duty -- that seems to drive turnout. Or to put it another way, a majority of Swiss seem to have a permanent case of voter fatigue.