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Landmark Referendums

The votes where the people decided directly: Brexit and the near-miss in Quebec, the plebiscite that ended Pinochet, the ballot that abolished the Italian monarchy, women's suffrage in Switzerland — sixty landmark referendums with results, turnout and what happened next.

62 referendums · closest result: Colombia 2016, No 50.21% · every column sorts

What happened
2023AustraliaIndigenous Voice to Parliament14 October 2023No 60.06%89.92%The constitutional amendment failed in every state.
2022ChileDraft constitution4 September 2022Reject 61.89%85.81%The proposed text was rejected on compulsory turnout.
2020New ZealandEnd of Life Choice Act17 October 2020Yes 65.1%82.2%Assisted dying became law in 2021; a cannabis referendum the same day failed 50.7–48.4.
2020ChileNew constitution25 October 2020Approve 78.28%50.9%A landslide to replace the Pinochet-era constitution.
2020RussiaConstitutional amendmentscaveat1 July 2020Yes 78.56%67.97%Reset Putin's term clock to allow rule to 2036.
2018IrelandRepeal the Eighth Amendment25 May 2018Yes 66.4%64.13%Ended the constitutional abortion ban.
2017AustraliaSame-sex marriage postal surveycaveat7 Nov – 15 Dec 2017Yes 61.6%79.5%A voluntary postal survey; Parliament legislated marriage equality within weeks.
2017TurkeyExecutive presidencycaveat16 April 2017Yes 51.41%85.43%Replaced parliamentary government with the presidential system used since 2018.
2016United KingdomEU membership (Brexit)23 June 2016Leave 51.89%72.21%The UK voted to leave the European Union; it withdrew in January 2020.
2016NetherlandsEU–Ukraine Association Agreement6 April 2016No 61%32.28%An advisory No on low turnout; the agreement was later ratified with addenda.
2016ItalyConstitutional reform4 December 2016No 59.12%65.47%Renzi's reform was crushed; he resigned that night.
2016ColombiaFARC peace deal2 October 2016No 50.21%37.44%The deal was rejected by 54,000 votes, then revised and passed via Congress.
2016BoliviaFourth term for Morales21 February 2016No 51.3%84.45%Voters said no; courts later let him run anyway, and 2019 ended in crisis.
2016HungaryEU migrant quotas2 October 2016No 98.4%44.04%An overwhelming No — invalidated by turnout below the 50% threshold.
2015IrelandMarriage equality22 May 2015Yes 62.07%60.52%The first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote.
2015GreeceBailout terms5 July 2015No 61.31%62.5%Greeks rejected the creditors' terms; a harsher deal was signed within weeks.
2015PolandSingle-member districts6 September 2015Yes 78.75%7.8%The lowest turnout in modern European referendum history; legally void.
2014ScotlandScottish independence18 September 2014No 55.3%84.59%Scotland stayed in the UK on a record modern turnout.
2014Crimea (occupied)'Join Russia'caveat16 March 2014Announced 96.77 96.8%83.1%Held under Russian military occupation and recognised by almost no one.
2011United KingdomAlternative Vote5 May 2011No 67.9%42.2%First-past-the-post was retained for Westminster elections.
2011New ZealandKeep MMP26 November 2011Yes 57.77%74.21%Voters kept proportional representation.
2011South SudanIndependence from Sudan9–15 January 2011Yes 98.8%97.6%The world's newest state was born that July.
2008IrelandLisbon Treaty (first vote)12 June 2008No 53.4%53.13%Ireland rejected the EU treaty — then approved it 67.1% in 2009 after concessions.
2006MontenegroIndependence from Serbia21 May 2006Yes 55.5%86.5%Cleared the EU's 55% threshold by half a point.
2005FranceEU Constitution29 May 2005No 54.68%69.34%France sank the constitutional treaty; the Netherlands followed three days later.
2005NetherlandsEU Constitution1 June 2005No 61.54%63.3%The Dutch No, after the French one, killed the treaty.
2003SwedenAdopt the euro14 September 2003No 55.91%82.6%Sweden kept the krona.
2000DenmarkAdopt the euro28 September 2000No 53.2%87.6%Denmark kept the krone.
1999AustraliaRepublic6 November 1999No 54.87%95.1%The monarchy was retained; the proposed model split republicans.
1999East TimorIndependence from Indonesia30 August 1999Yes 78.5%98.6%Independence approved amid militia violence; statehood followed in 2002.
1998Northern IrelandGood Friday Agreement22 May 1998Yes 71.1%81.1%Endorsed the peace agreement; the Republic approved it the same day with 94%.
1997ScotlandScottish devolution11 September 1997Yes 74.29%60.4%Created the Scottish Parliament, first elected in 1999.
1995Canada (Quebec)Quebec sovereignty30 October 1995No 50.58%93.5%Canada survived by 54,288 votes — the closest secession vote in a modern democracy.
1995IrelandDivorce24 November 1995Yes 50.28%62.15%Divorce was legalised by nine thousand votes.
1994NorwayEU membership28 November 1994No 52.2%89%The second No; Norway remains outside the EU.
1993New ZealandAdopt MMP6 November 1993Yes 53.86%85.2%Replaced first-past-the-post; the first MMP election followed in 1996.
1993BrazilForm of government21 April 1993Republic 66.26%—Voters kept the republic and chose presidentialism over parliamentarism.
1993RussiaConfidence in Yeltsin25 April 1993Yes 58.7%64.5%Yeltsin won the referendum months before shelling the parliament.
1992CanadaCharlottetown Accord26 October 1992No 54.3%71.8%The constitutional package was rejected nationally and in Quebec.
1992FranceMaastricht Treaty20 September 1992Yes 51.05%69.69%The 'petit oui' that let the euro project proceed.
1992DenmarkMaastricht Treaty2 June 1992No 50.7%83.1%Denmark's No forced the Edinburgh opt-outs; a second vote passed in 1993.
1992SwitzerlandJoin the EEA6 December 1992No 50.3%78.7%The narrowest of Nos set Switzerland's bilateral path with Europe.
1992South AfricaEnd apartheid negotiationscaveat17 March 1992Yes 68.73%85.08%White voters backed de Klerk's reforms, clearing the road to 1994.
1991Soviet UnionPreserve the Union17 March 1991Yes 77.85%80.03%Nine months later the USSR was gone — six republics boycotted the vote.
1991UkraineIndependence1 December 1991Yes 92.3%84.18%Every region voted yes, including Crimea; the USSR dissolved within the month.
1988ChilePinochet's continuation5 October 1988No 55.99%97.5%The plebiscite that ended the dictatorship and led to the 1989 elections.
1986SpainStay in NATO12 March 1986Yes 56.85%59.42%González reversed his party's stance and won the vote.
1980Canada (Quebec)Quebec sovereignty-association20 May 1980No 59.56%85.61%Quebec's first sovereignty vote failed decisively.
1980UruguayDictatorship's constitution30 November 1980No 57.2%86.8%Uruguayans voted down their own military regime — the beginning of its end.
1979ScotlandScottish devolution1 March 1979Yes 51.62%63.6%A narrow Yes failed the 40%-of-electorate rule; devolution waited 18 years.
1978SpainConstitution6 December 1978Yes 91.8%67.11%Ratified the democratic constitution after Franco.
1975United KingdomEC membership5 June 1975Yes 67.23%64.6%Britain voted to stay in the European Community two years after joining.
1974ItalyRepeal divorce law12 May 1974No 59.26%87.7%Italians kept divorce, a landmark defeat for the Christian Democrats.
1974GreeceRepublic or monarchy8 December 1974Republic 69.18%75.6%Abolished the monarchy after the junta fell.
1972NorwayEC membership25 September 1972No 53.5%79.2%Norway stayed out of Europe — and did it again in 1994.
1971SwitzerlandWomen's suffrage7 February 1971Yes 65.7%57.7%Swiss men finally granted women the federal vote.
1969FranceSenate and regional reform27 April 1969No 52.41%80.13%De Gaulle staked his presidency on it and resigned the next day.
1962FranceDirect presidential election28 October 1962Yes 62.25%77.25%Created the directly elected presidency France still uses.
1946ItalyRepublic or monarchy2 June 1946Republic 54.27%89.08%Ended the House of Savoy; the vote that created the Italian Republic.
1944IcelandRepublic and severance from Denmark20–23 May 1944Yes 98.5%98.4%Iceland became a republic on 17 June 1944.
1942CanadaConscription plebiscite27 April 1942Yes 64.5%71.3%The country said yes — but Quebec voted 72.9% No, a rift that shaped the war years.
1916AustraliaConscription28 October 1916No 51.61%82.75%Australians rejected WWI conscription — and again in 1917.