Prosecutors probe allegations of fake voter rolls in Switzerland’s vaunted direct democracy

Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss federal prosecutors say they have ordered house searches and interrogations as part of an investigation into possible electoral fraud after an advocacy group unearthed thousands of fake signatures in voter rolls. Newspapers in Swiss media group Tamedia first reported that the advocacy group whose name translates as Citizen Service has filed a criminal complaint alleging malfeasance that could have skewed results in Swiss elections. The revelation has jolted Switzerland’s vaunted system of direct democracy where mail-in balloting is the main way that voters cast ballots and where referendums four times a year give citizens a direct say in policymaking.