In Switzerland, people are constantly voting: on popular initiatives, referendums, and in municipal, cantonal and federal elections. Direct democracy is the country’s hallmark. For most foreign residents, it is also something they observe from the outside without being able to take part, regardless of how long they have been living here.
But not in all cantons.
In Neuchâtel, foreign nationals who have lived in Switzerland for ten years — or five years in the canton — may vote in municipal and cantonal elections. They may also stand as candidates. The canton recognised this right in 1849, before many European states had done so for their own citizens. In that sense, it is a unique case in Swiss constitutional history.
In Jura — the country’s youngest canton, established in 1979 — foreign nationals who have lived in Switzerland for ten years are eligible to vote in local elections. In Vaud, the same rule applies: the right to vote in local elections is granted after ten years’ residence in Switzerland and at least one year in the municipality. Some municipalities in the canton of Graubünden also allow this within the framework of their municipal assemblies.
In the other cantons — including Zurich, Bern and Geneva — foreign nationals do not take part in any level of the electoral process, regardless of how long they have been resident.
For Spaniards in Switzerland: if you live in Neuchâtel, Jura or Vaud and have been there long enough, you could take part in the next local election. The vast majority are unaware of this. And in those cantons, that right has been waiting for decades for someone to exercise it.