
Contents
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1 Introduction 1 Introduction
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2 Electoral systems for the National Council and the Council of States 2 Electoral systems for the National Council and the Council of States
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2.1 National Council 2.1 National Council
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2.2 Council of States 2.2 Council of States
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3 Election campaigns 3 Election campaigns
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4 Turnout 4 Turnout
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5 Electoral choice and behaviour 5 Electoral choice and behaviour
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5.1 Electoral outcomes 5.1 Electoral outcomes
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5.2 Cleavage-based voting and party identification 5.2 Cleavage-based voting and party identification
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5.3 Issue voting 5.3 Issue voting
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5.4 Campaign effects 5.4 Campaign effects
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6 Conclusion 6 Conclusion
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Notes Notes
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References References
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21 National Elections
Get accessGeorg Lutz is Director of ‘FORS’ and Professor of Political Science at the University of Lausanne. He was previously principal investigator of the Swiss election study ‘Selects’ for many years. His work focuses on political institutions and political behaviour in a comparative perspective as well as Swiss politics and survey research methods. His research is published in, among others, the Swiss Political Science Review and Representation, as well as in contributions to different edited volumes.
Anke Tresch is an associate professor of political sociology at the Institute of Political Studies at the University of Lausanne and head of the ‘Political Surveys’ group at the Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences (FORS). She directs the Swiss national election study Selects and co-leads a research project on Swiss Direct Democracy in the 21st Century. Her research focuses on political communication, opinion formation, and voting behaviour in elections and referendums. Her research is published in, among others, Political Communication, Electoral Studies, and Party Politics.
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Published:18 December 2023
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Abstract
The remarkable stability of national elections in Switzerland for over sixty years after the introduction of proportional representation in 1919 came to an end with the rise of the right-wing populist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) in the mid-1990s. Overall, party affiliation—and hence stability of the electoral choice—has declined significantly. As a result, situational factors, like issue salience, issue positioning, and long- and short-term campaign priorities, have become significant for electoral choice. These changes have also intensified competition among parties, which have begun to centralize their election campaigns and deploy new campaign techniques. Yet, turnout remains low despite these changes: since 1979, turnout in National Council elections has been below 50 per cent. This is due to the complexity of the electoral system and the high frequency of votes in Switzerland’s direct-democratic system.
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