Voters in Switzerland are casting ballots in a referendum which would make tough rules for foreigners to obtain citizenship even tougher.
They are being asked whether to revive the practice of approving candidates for citizenship by secret ballot and removing the right of appeal.
Secret ballots were outlawed five years ago by the supreme court, which judged them to be discriminatory.
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Many Swiss say not allowing voters to have the final say on who becomes a citizen violates the country's system of direct democracy, the BBC's Imogen Foulkes reports from Berne.
However, opponents of Sunday's poll, which was called by the nationalist Swiss People's Party, suspect the real agenda behind it is not Swiss democracy, but how best to keep certain groups out of Switzerland, our correspondent adds.
Twelve years of residence
Swiss laws on naturalisation are already tough.
Candidates for citizenship must live in Switzerland for at least 12 years, they have to pass tests on Swiss language and culture, and those born in Switzerland have no automatic right to citizenship.
The final hurdle is approval by the local community at a town meeting.
The supreme court outlawed secret ballots five years ago after it became clear that some towns were regularly rejecting candidates from the Balkans, Turkey and Africa, while approving those from western Europe.
It also gave those rejected the right to appeal.
The Swiss People's Party, the largest in parliament, wants the secret ballots back and the right to appeal removed.
(BBC)
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