Any switch that is being run at its rated voltage and current should not experience any flash over, however switches do fail at times.
A common type of failure is for a switch to weld itself closed and therefore could cause the sort of problem you are describing if there are other parts of the circuit holding off power from the switch until a certain point in a process.
For a switch to fail such that it spontaneously conducts I would expect would be rare unless the switch managed to develop point contact surfaces through contact erosion.
However if there are metal dust particles about or frequent arcs on switching generating carbon residue or copper vapour depositing over the enclosure then it may happen.
A common type of failure is for a switch to weld itself closed and therefore could cause the sort of problem you are describing if there are other parts of the circuit holding off power from the switch until a certain point in a process.
For a switch to fail such that it spontaneously conducts I would expect would be rare unless the switch managed to develop point contact surfaces through contact erosion.
However if there are metal dust particles about or frequent arcs on switching generating carbon residue or copper vapour depositing over the enclosure then it may happen.