1939 Danish constitutional referendum

none Denmark 23 May 1939 966,277 85,717 11,770 2,173,420 Proposal failed as less than 45% of registered voters voted in favour A constitutional referendum was held in Denmark on 23 May 1939.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p524 978-3-8329-5609-7 Voters were asked whether they approved of a new constitution. Although it was approved by 91.9% of those who voted, a turnout of only 48.9% meant that the percentage of eligible voters approving it was only 44.46%, below the 45% required by the existing constitution of 1915.Nohlen & Stöver, p505 The Danish constitution was finally altered to its present form following a 1953 referendum. Proposed changes The two primary changes in the proposed constitution from 1939 were lowering the electoral age from 25 to 23 years, and replacing the Landsting with a new chamber of parliament, the Rigsting.Wendt, Frantz W. (1951). "Rigsdagen 1915-40", in Bomholt, J., Fabricius, K., Hjelholt, H., Mackeprang, M. & Møller, A. (eds.): Den Danske Rigsdag 1849-1949 bind II - Rigsdagens histore 1866-1949 da. Copenhagen: J. H. Schultz Forlag, pp. 554-556. Additionally, the united parliament (da den forenede rigsdag) consisting of the members of the two other chambers was to become a third chamber of parliament.Skou, Kaare R. (2005). Dansk politik A-Å da. Aschehoug, pp. 579-580. 87-11-11652-8. The united parliament would handle the more important types of bills, including the budget and proposed changes to the constitution. Other bills could be proposed in either the Folketing or the Rigsting, and in order to pass they would have to go through three readings in the chamber in which they originated, and two readings in the other. This would have been a simplification of the existing process where all bills had to go through three readings in each of the two chambers. Results 966277 85717 11770 2173420 Nohlen & Stöver While the result was overwhelmingly in favour of the proposed change, this only had the support of 44.5 per cent of the electorate, falling just short of the 45 per cent threshold required for any constitutional change to come into force.The People and the Party System: The Referendum and Electoral Reform in British Politics, Vernon Bogdanor CUP Archive, 1981, page 61 See also The system of qualified unicameralism used in the Norwegian parliament until 2009, similar to the "united parliament" system above. References Category:Referendums in Denmark Denmark Constitutional referendum Category:20th century in Danish law Category:Constitutional referendums Denmark Category:1930s in Danish politics