Category Archives: direct democracy
“Worries Swirl Over California’s Initiatives; Supreme Court’s Dismissal of State’s Gay-Marriage Ban Raises Concerns that the Move Sets Precedent Limiting Voter Power”
The Wall Street Journal reports, quoting me, among others, on serious problems for California’s initiative process with the Proposition 8 decision of the Supreme Court last week.
NYT’s “Room for Debate” Asks if More Cities Should Have Initiatives
Local Virginia Officials Deny DOJ Request to Inspect Polls
“Too disruptive,” Augusta County officials say, apparently about investigation into a possible problem related to access to polling for the disabled.
“Can Initiatives Be Used to Regulate the Manner of Selecting Presidential Electors, and Can Initiative Proponents Defend in Federal Court?”
Vik Amar has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
We have now had more than a century to assess America’s initiative device, and the Progressive movement of which it was an outgrowth. Beginning with South Dakota in… Continue reading
“House GOP slams Justice Department as racist, mismanaged; Sheila Jackson Lee pushes back”
“DOJ Responds to Vitter on Voting Issue That Could Hinder Perez Nomination”
Roll Call: “The Justice Department responded Friday to Sen. David Vitter’s request for more information about its enforcement of a federal voter registration law — a response the Louisiana Republican demanded before deciding whether to drop his threat… Continue reading
CA Voters Attitudes on the Initiative Process
From a new PPIC survey:
Strong Support for the citizens’ Initiative—and for Reforming the Process
Consistent with this preference for giving the electorate the final say on state tax increases, 72 percent of likely voters say it is a… Continue reading
Initial Thoughts on the Inspector General Report on the Voting Rights Section of DOJ
I have now had a chance to give an initial read to the mammoth report of the IG on the voting rights section and I have some thoughts which could change upon closer scrutiny (news reports at NYT, LAT… Continue reading
“California lawmakers avoid campaign contribution limits with ballot measure accounts”
The Sacramento Bee reports.
This is not a new problem. I’ve written about campaign finance issues surrounding candidate controlled ballot measure committees in this Southern California Law Review article.
“Local Ballot Initiatives: How citizens change laws with clipboards, conversations, and campaigns”
Leslie Graves of the Lucy Burns Institute sends along the following:
I thought you might be interested in a publication we just released: Local Ballot Initiatives: How citizens change laws with clipboards, conversations, and campaigns. It provides an overview… Continue reading
“The Promise and Limits of Citizens’ Assemblies: Deliberation, Institutions and the Law of Democracy”
Michael Pal has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Queens Law Journal). Here is the abstract:
Recent experiments with deliberative democracy in British Columbia and Ontario have brought new life to the debate over electoral reform in Canada and have… Continue reading
Interpreting Initiatives
Michael Gilbert has posted this draft on SSRN (Minnesota Law Review). Here is the abstract:
Judges claim to resolve ambiguities in initiatives by identifying and giving force to “voter intent,” but scholars reject that on the ground that such intent… Continue reading