pressure group
pressure group noun [C]
a group of people who work together to try to influence what other people or the government think about a particular subject, in order to achieve the things they want
Some Swiss votes are ordered by politicians, yet many, known as “initiatives”, are binding votes on national legislation triggered by citizens’ petitions. In recent years these have widened state health-insurance to cover alternative medicine; enforced deportation of foreigners guilty of serious crimes and benefit fraud; and banned the building of mosques with minarets. 原译： 瑞士的公投有些出于政客呼吁，但许多是称为 “创制” 的公投，即对由公民请愿提议而产生国家法律的投票。近年来，通过这些公投，政府的医疗保险已经扩展到覆盖替代药品保险; 增强了驱逐犯有重罪的外国人出境的措施及对福利欺诈的惩罚、并且禁止修建筑带有光塔的清真寺。
评论：Some Swiss votes are ordered by politicians 有些公投是应政客指定而作的
yet many, known as “initiatives”, are binding votes on national legislation triggered by citizens’ petitions. 但也有许多是称为 “倡议” 的公投，（你的脚注里用倡议）即由公民请愿而引发的对国家立法有约束力的投票。
alternative medicine 严格地应译成另类医学（见方舟子网站）
foreigners guilty of serious crimes and benefit fraud; 犯有重罪以及福利诈欺罪的外国人。
Helvetian zeal for direct votes skews global statistics. Nearly a quarter of all recorded national referendums have taken place there. Countries hold almost twice as many referendums as they did 50 years ago, says David Altman, a political scientist at the Catholic University of Chile. In the past 20 years more than 100 have introduced some sort of direct voting, says the Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe (IRI-E), a think-tank. 原译：赫尔维蒂人（瑞士人）对直接投票的热衷影响了全球的统计数据。在所有全国公民投票的记录中，瑞士一国就占居了将近1/4的投票次数。智利天主教大学的一位政治学家大卫•奥特曼指出，许多国家的公民投票次数比50年前提高了将近两倍。一所名为“欧洲创制与复决研究所”的智囊机构(IRI-E)表示，在过去的20年中，共有100多个国家程度不同地引进了直接投票程序。
评论：许多国家的公民投票次数比50年前提高了将近两倍。？？？？？
跟50年前相比， 现在作公投的国家几乎是当初的两倍。
So only a few countries give voters Swiss-style rights to take their own proposals to the ballot box. Of all the citizen-initiated nationwide votes recorded since the 1980s, 90% have taken place in Switzerland and six other states: Italy, Liechtenstein, Uruguay, Lithuania, Latvia and Hungary. The regional picture is different, though. Though the United States is one of the few democracies never to have held a national referendum, Californians were asked to vote on 14 local issues last year. Since 1996 Japan has had several hundred local polls.原译：因此，只有少数几个国家给予选民“瑞士型”权利，允许他们把自己的提议放进投票箱。自1980年以来，在所有公民倡议（创制）的全国公投记录中，90％属于瑞士和其他六个国家：意大利，列支敦士登，乌拉圭，立陶宛，拉脱维亚和匈牙利。地区公投的情况则各不一样：美国虽然是从未举行全国公投的少数民主国家之一，但去年加州要求其选民对14项地方提议进行投票；日本自1996年以来，已举行了数百次地方投票。
评论： 这里的regional或local均指国内地区级别上的公投， 有别于nationwide的公投。
The regional picture is different, though. 国内地区级的公投情况则不一样（跟nationwide不一样）
日本自1996年以来，已举行了数百次地方投票。（为便于理解， 应译成地区级公投）
Pan-European votes are in the offing too. From April 1st 2012 the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) will allow petitioners in the European Union to propose legislation to the European Commission. Among the several criteria is finding 1m signatories (0.2% of the EU population) from a quarter of member countries. “Manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious” initiatives are excluded. Carsten Berg of Democracy International (a pressure group that campaigned for the ECI) notes that a successful petition does not trigger a public vote or even a parliamentary debate. It only obliges the Eurocrats to respond. Petitions already under way include a proposal to halt the introduction of genetically modified crops, and one that would bar Turkey from the EU for ever. Another wants shops to close on Sundays. 原译：全欧公投已经也是触手可及。 2012年4月1日起，欧洲公民倡议（ECI）将允许欧盟会员向欧盟委员会情愿立法。准则之一是从1/4的成员国中收集100万个会员（占0.2％欧盟人口）签名。“明显毁谤、无聊琐屑或无理取闹”的倡议将被排除之外。民主国际（ECI推广督促组织）的卡斯滕•伯格指出，一份成功的请愿书并不会导致公众投票，甚至不会引发议会辩论。它仅仅能责成欧盟官员作出回应。目前已经提交的请愿书包括一份停止引进转基因作物的建议、一份永远禁止土耳其加入欧盟的要求，还有另一份要求在星期天关闭商店的提议。
评论：allow petitioners in the European Union将允许欧盟会员？？？ 这里的petitioners 是人民，不是会员（国）
准则之一是从1/4的成员国中收集100万个会员（占0.2％欧盟人口）签名 ？？？ 同样的问题！欧盟的成员国的人民是不是叫做会员啊？ 有根据吗？ 我没听说过。
The sunshine state’s experience certainly casts a cloud over the enthusiasm for direct democracy. Citizen initiatives there are blamed for fiscal ruin and incoherent, contradictory mandates. Fans of direct democracy argue that California’s woes stem from the practice, not the concept. Some say that flaws in representative forms of democracy make reform essential. Mr Kaufmann says that voters increasingly want to engage in politics “issue by issue”. Greenpeace, founded in 1971, has nearly 3m paying members. Over the same period, trust in political parties has shrivelled. In America “independents” now outnumber Republicans or Democrats. 原译：阳光之州的教训一定会给直接民主的热情泼下冷水。市民倡议被指导致财政破产，是缺乏条理和前后矛盾的授权。但直接民主的簇拥者坚持，加州的困境是实践错误，而不是概念错误。有人认为，民主表现形式上的缺陷说明必须改革。考夫曼先生指出，选民们越来越希望参与政治时“一个问题一个问题的对付”。成立于1971年的绿色和平组织，已经发展到将近300万名付费会员。与此同时，各政党的信任度却遭受了打击。美国“独立”派人数已经超过了无论是共和党或是民主党的人数。
评论：in representative forms of democracy民主表现形式上的缺陷？？？
硬伤一个， 美国不是直接民主的国家， 而是代议制（间接民主）。
Countries hold almost twice as many referendums as they did 50 years ago
原译：许多国家的公民投票次数比50年前提高了将近两倍。
陈版：跟50年前相比， 现在各个国家所作公投的次数几乎是当初的两倍。
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按你的翻译，成了“每个国家的公投数几乎是50年前的两倍”。正如你后面的分析，这既非作者原意，也不合常理。所以我前面调侃说“如此整齐一致”？
我认为 作者的这句话： Countries hold almost twice as many referendums as they did 50 years ago 与图表没有关系。
这句只提了referendum，而图表显示了三种称呼/形式的总和：referendums，initiatives，and plebiscites。
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