1962 French presidential election referendum

1962 French presidential election referendum

28 October 1962
Do you approve of the bill submitted to the French people by the President of the Republic and relating to the election of the President of the Republic by universal suffrage?
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 13,150,516 62.25% No 7,974,538 37.75% Valid votes 21,125,054 97.37% Invalid or blank votes 569,509 2.63% Total votes 21,694,563 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 28,185,478 76.97%

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A referendum on the method of the election of the president was held in France on 28 October 1962.^[1] The question was whether to have the President of the French Republic elected by direct popular vote, rather than by an electoral college. It was approved by 62.3% of voters with a 77.0% turnout.^[2] The reform was controversial because it strengthened the executive at the expense of Parliament, and because of the disputed constitutionality of the procedure used.