Voter turnout in federal referendums by decade, 1880-1992, by percentage of the electorate
| Decade | 1880s | 1890s | 1900s | 1910s | 1920s | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980-92 |
| Average Participation* | 60.6 | 57.8 | 56.2 | 50.6 | 63.2 | 64.6 | 58.8 | 50.8 | 43.2 | 42.2 | 41.0 |
* Ballots with multiple questions were counted as only one ballot, because they represent a single trip to the polls. Considering them separately would have severely biased the calculation toward omnibus ballots.