A Word Borrowed from Ancient Rome
The word "plebiscite" is older than you might think. It comes from the Latin plebiscita, which first meant a decree of the Plebeian Council, the popular assembly of the Roman Republic. Today it means much the same thing as a referendum: a direct vote by the voters themselves, not their representatives, on a proposal, law, or political issue.
"Referendum" is Latin too. It is a gerundive of the verb referre, which means "to carry back." The idea is a proposal that must be carried back to the people. Because English turned it into a normal English noun, the plural is "referendums." By the rules of both Latin and English grammar, "referenda" does not really work.
The name and the practice are thought to have started in the Swiss canton of Graubünden as early as the 16th century.
Binding, Advisory, Required, or Requested
Not every referendum carries the same weight. A binding one puts a new policy into effect. An advisory one works more like a giant opinion poll. David Altman sorts them along four lines: required or optional, binding or advisory, started by citizens or by authorities, and proposing a change or blocking one.
A mandatory referendum must happen whenever certain conditions are met, with no signatures needed. Many places use one for constitutional changes. Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, Denmark, and 49 of the 50 U.S. states do this. The only exception is Delaware. In California, the state cannot borrow more than $300,000 without a public vote.
Optional votes come from a demand instead. Citizens can propose new laws, strike down existing ones, or hold a recall referendum to remove an elected official before the term ends.
The Country That Votes the Most
Since the end of the 18th century, hundreds of national referendums have been held around the world. One country stands far ahead. Switzerland has held almost 600 national votes since it became a modern state in 1848. Italy comes second with 78 national referendums.
Switzerland also votes on treaties about collective security and on joining a supranational community. That kind of vote has happened only once there: a failed attempt in 1986 to join the United Nations.
Some ideas never made it off paper. Immanuel Kant proposed a war referendum, a public vote to approve a declaration of war. No country has ever adopted one, though the United States debated it in the 1930s. After a dip in the mid-20th century, referendums have grown more popular since the 1970s, as specific issues started to matter more to people than party labels.
When the Ballot Has More Than Two Answers
Most referendums ask a simple yes or no. Some offer more choices. When voters can weigh their support for several options, the vote is sometimes called a preferendum. Sweden held two referendums, in 1957 and 1980, with three options each. In 1977, Australia let voters pick a new national anthem from four choices.
New Zealand held a five-option vote on its electoral system in 1992. In 1982, Guam offered six options, plus a blank one for voters who wanted to write in a seventh.
More options raise a new question: how do you pick the winner? If nothing wins more than half the votes, a second round can be held, or instant-runoff voting can be used. The 1977 Australian vote used that method. California has its own fix: when two passed measures clash, the one with the most yes votes wins.
Why Staying Home Can Count as a Vote
Some referendums only count if enough people show up. This rule is called a participation quorum, and it has a strange side effect. Opponents can do better by staying home than by voting no, because low turnout can make the whole result invalid. Everyone else who skips the vote, even people with no opinion, ends up counting against the proposal.
Studies show this rule tends to push turnout below the required level. It is known as the "quorum paradox." A parliament can postpone a vote when too few members attend, but a referendum cannot be rescheduled. The Venice Commission, a European body on democracy and law, recommends against any quorum rules.
Critics raise other worries too. Turnout is usually lower than in candidate elections. And when one ballot bundles linked issues together, the separability problem can produce a result most voters dislike.
