Quorum and special majorities

62. Based on its experience in the area of referendums, and in line with the 2019 report of the Parliamentary Assembly the Venice Commission confirms its recommendation that no provision be made in principle for rules on quorums (thresholds).

63. A turn-out quorum (minimum percentage) means that it is in the interests of a proposal’s opponents to abstain rather than to vote against it. For example, if 48% of electors are in favour of a proposal, 5% are against it and 47% intend to abstain, the 5% of opponents need only desert the ballot box in order to impose their viewpoint, even though they are very much in the minority. In addition, their absence from the campaign is liable to increase the number of abstentions and thus the likelihood that the quorum will not be reached. Encouraging either abstention or the imposition of a minority viewpoint is not healthy for democracy (point III.7.a). Moreover, there is a great temptation to falsify the turn-out rate in the face of weak opposition.

64. An approval quorum (approval by a minimum percentage of registered voters) may also be inconclusive, as it may be so high as to make change excessively difficult. If a text is approved – especially by a substantial margin – by a majority of voters without the quorum being reached, the political situation becomes very problematic, as the majority will feel that they have been deprived of their victory without an adequate reason. This risk of the turn-out rate being falsified is the same as for a turn-out quorum.

65. An approval quorum is nevertheless acceptable for referendums on matters of fundamental constitutional significance. An alternative could a qualified majority requirement. The existence of a matter of fundamental constitutional significance should be admitted only in exceptional circumstances, implying for example a fundamental change of the political system (e.g. federal v. centralised or strongly presidential v. parliamentary) or, when admitted by the Constitution, secession (point III.7.b). Moreover, the requirement of a multiple majority (the majority of voters taking part in the referendum plus the majority in a specified number of entities) is acceptable in federal and regional states, in particular for constitutional revisions (point III.7.c).