Referendums and elections
Anyone conducting research on elections and referendums depends on carefully prepared, current, and publicly available data sets. The ZDA maintains an internationally unique database on initiatives and referendums in the whole world.
Mandated by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), the ZDA also maintains a database on the Swiss elections and referendums. The goal is an early detection of national political trends. Subject to research are also how national elections and voting on issues, as well as cantonal and municipal elections, influence each other.
Ongoing projects
Electronic database on direct democracy
The Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau created an electronic database on direct democracy in Switzerland, Europe and the world. This database contains information on the institutions (referendum and popular initiative) of direct democracy as well as on their use in popular votes.
Project leader: Uwe Serdült
Project collaborators: Norina Frehner, Irina Lehner, Louis Gebistorf
Research database UZH
Fokus Aargau – Voting and Election Studies Canton of Argovia
In this project we develop and perform post-referendum and post-election survey studies for the Canton of Argovia, Switzerland.
Project leaders: Uwe Serdült, Thomas Milic
Project collaborator: Salim Brüggemann
Duration: 2018–2021
Research database UZH
Dataset Swiss elections and referendums
Datenbank zu den kantonalen Parlaments- und Regierungswahlen, den Wahlen in den rund 130 Schweizer Städten, zu den Parteipositionen und den Gemeinderesultaten der nationalen Volksabstimmungen sowie zu den Wahlen ins nationale Parlament.
Project leaders: Daniel Kübler, Daniel Bochsler, Thomas Milic
Projekt collaborators: Philippe Rochat, Alessandro Feller
Duration: 2016-2020
Research database UZH
Nachbefragung und Analysen zu eidgenössischen Abstimmungen (VOTO)
Im Rahmen von VOTO werden nach jeder eidgenössischen Volksabstimmung die Beweggründe für die Teilnahme und die Entscheide der Schweizer Stimmberechtigten untersucht.
Cooperation partners: FORS, LINK
Project leaders: Georg Lutz, Daniel Kübler, Urs Aellig
Project collaborators: Thomas Milic
Laufzeit: 2016–2020
Project Website
Completed projects
Dataset Swiss elections and referendums
Project leaders: Daniel Kübler, Daniel Bochsler
Project collaborators: Thomas Milic, Philippe Rochat, Karima Bousbah
Research database UZH
Cantonal Popular Initiatives: Normative Setting and efficiency
Project leader: Andreas Auer
Project collaborator: Evren Somer
Research database UZH
The effectiveness of popular initiatives in Switzerland 1848–2010
Graduate thesis: Gabriela Rohner (2012)
Website Schulthess Verlag