Canton

if Swiss direct democracy has a Mt. Olympus, this may be it. Altdorf, where I'm spending the night, is the capital of the tiny canton -- that's what the Swiss call their states -- of Uri, in the center of the country. It's also the hometown of William Tell, Swiss hero. One caveat: It's not a mountain really. Altdorf is in  a narrow valley, with steep, sometimes sheer moutains on each side. It put me in mind of the Yosemite Valley.

This may be the most direct democratic part of the world's most advanced direct democracy. Uri has just 35,000 people, 25,000 of them eligible to vote. It was one of the original three Swiss cantons, dating to 1291. (Tell, in a popular founding myth that has little historical authenticity, shot the Austrian overlord of Uri with a crossbow in 1307). As we arrived in town, election returns showed a flat tax referendum passing at the ballot, along with another measure. Next, the canton's voters will consider an initaitive to lower the voting age to 16. (A nearby Canton has moved to do the same).