When the People Decide - The war on the initiative

The war on the initiative

07/25/22 • 29 min

Many state leaders are fighting to restrict access to this tool of democracy—or get rid of ballot initiatives altogether. While challenges to voting rights in states across the country captured the news cycle throughout much of the last two years, those same forces also seek to make it more difficult to engage in direct democracy.

With 12 states battling restrictive bills to limit citizen-led initiatives, the “democracy reform movement” is stepping up across the country to save them. If legislators are successful in making it harder for people to use ballot initiatives, will politics still be within reach of the everyday citizen? Follow along as these campaigns play out in Idaho and Missouri.

Learn more about the podcast at thepeopledecide.show and follow us on Twitter @PeopleDecidePod.

Resources

Show Me Integrity

The Fairness Project

David Daley's books Unrigged and Ratf*cked

Learn more about the podcast at thepeopledecide.show and follow us on Twitter @PeopleDecidePod.

Resources

Show Me Integrity

The Fairness Project

David Daley's books Unrigged and Ratf*cked

Previous Episode

The invisible third party of reform

The polarization that exists in U.S. politics has some voters questioning the integrity of our two-party system—whose interests are the politicians really representing? Ballot initiative organizers claim that they are building new coalitions that transcend party lines, and unite voters on their values, not their partisan affiliations. In doing so, they echo progressive reformers of the past, who created big changes and prompted observers to call their work part of an “invisible third party of reform.”

Ballot initiatives that are largely popular with everyday citizens, like Medicaid expansion and voting rights restoration, but that are seen by politicians as too progressive for bipartisan support, are finally reaching voters at the ballot box. In this episode, we examine how the current era of political reformers ushers in alternatives to stalled legislation by going beyond party lines and bringing the issues straight to voters, and asking the question, what do ballot initiatives say about the kind of political system we want in the U.S.?

Learn more about the podcast at thepeopledecide.show and follow us on Twitter @PeopleDecidePod.

Resources

Florida Rights Restoration Coalition

Reclaim Idaho

Let My People Vote: The Battle to Restore the Civil Rights of Returning Citizens by Desmond Meade

The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865-1915 by Jon Grinspan

Next Episode

For the many or the few?

Throughout the series, we’ve seen what can happen when major decisions are put to the will of the people. Initiatives are far from perfect, but will we miss them if they go away? This episode will explore whether ballot initiatives can withstand the challenges they’re up against, and some groups are looking to initiatives as a way to strengthen American democracy.

Our guests this week are two bold thinkers about the future of direct democracy. John Matsusaka is the director of USC’s Initiative and Referendum Institute; Chris Melody Fields Figureredo is the executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. They've studied initiative outcomes and seen how they can work on the ground, and offer their thoughts on where we go from here.

This episode also covers comes of the common criticisms of ballot initiatives, which are important to consider in designing measures and campaigns that are truly democratic and serve the many, not the few. Or, as Figueredo put it, "love letters to our people."

Resources

For the Many or the Few? The Initiative, Public Policy, and American Democracy by John Matsusaka

Let the People Rule: How Direct Democracy Can Meet the Populist Challenge by John Matsusaka

Initiatives Without Engagement: A Realistic Appraisal of Direct Democracy's Secondary Effects by Joshua Dyck and Ted Lascher.