Bulach

It's Sunday morning in Bulach, Switzerland, in the canton of Zurich (and 15 minutes outside the main city). I arrived groggily a few hours ago, in the middle of initiative and referendum elections. Swiss voters graciously allowed me and a handful of other journalists (from Sweden, Bulgaria, Latvia, and Taiwan) to watch them fill out and turn in their ballots at a polling place in the city hall here. Bells rang, calling folks to the polls and to church.

First impressions. The Swiss offer people more ways to vote. These folks going to the polls are rare. Most voting is done by mail. And the Swiss also are permitted to vote by text message. This greater choice does not result in high voter turnout, however. Swiss and Americans have some of the lowest turnout figures in the civilized world. There are a lot of elections -- four a year for most Swiss.