Taylor, Alyssa M.

Integration as a Precondition for Enfranchisement? Swiss Public Opinion on Noncitizen Voting Rights
2025

Abstract In recent decades, as growing numbers of noncitizen residents remain excluded from the electorate, the question of who should be included in the electorate has gained prominence in both political and academic debates. Drawing on theories of integration and immigrant attitudes, I explore whether Swiss voters would consider integration criteria as prerequisites for enfranchisement and which criteria matter to whom. First, using original survey data from Switzerland fielded in 2021, I identify three key criterion types for inclusion: civic-cultural knowledge, economic contribution, and being of good character. Second, the findings reveal that partisanship is a primary factor shaping the importance citizens assign to these criteria, and which criterion specifically matters most. Interestingly, I find that few socioeconomic and demographic indicators influence voters’ views on whether such integration criterion could be used as a route towards enfranchisement. Taken together, the results point to the pivotal role that ideological divides play in framing debates over immigrants and their integration in Switzerland.