Sitzerland Minaret Referendum

Switzerland, known for its referendum system, approved by 58 percent a ban on minarets. "One Swiss member of parliament declared "the foundations of Switzerland's direct democracy have failed." How can direct democracy encourage substantive votes and discourage votes that are symbolic? As the Wall Street Journal put it, the ban merely means that the average Swiss citizen will be less likely to see an obvious symbol of Muslim. It does nothing to to address issues that the five percent of Swiss who are Muslem have or any issues they may create.