Initiative and Referendum Voting
Initiative and Referendum Voting

Author: Richard Braunstein

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13:

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Braunsteins work explores all aspects of initiative and referendum voting, including the subject matter of proposed laws, their potential costs and benefits, ballot issue campaign finance, and the electoral success for each initiative in California, Colorado, and South Dakota. He tests the validity of competing claims that direct democracy is either the bane of democratic publics or their safeguard. His conclusions demonstrate that voters are more sophisticated than many commentators think, that voting behavior reflects a preference for measures with widely accessible benefits, and that inclusive public policy can result from ballot issue elections even those funded by organized interests. These findings challenge a perception that special interests, professional consultants, and governing elites dominate direct democracy.

Educated by Initiative
Educated by Initiative

Author: Daniel A. Smith

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2009-11-12

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0472024256

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"This body of research not only passes academic muster but is the best guidepost in existence for activists who are trying to use the ballot initiative process for larger policy and political objectives." --Kristina Wilfore, Executive Director, Ballot Initiative Strategy Center and Foundation Educated by Initiative moves beyond previous evaluations of public policy to emphasize the educational importance of the initiative process itself. Since a majority of ballots ultimately fail or get overturned by the courts, Smith and Tolbert suggest that the educational consequences of initiative voting may be more important than the outcomes of the ballots themselves. The result is a fascinating and thoroughly-researched book about how direct democracy teaches citizens about politics, voting, civic engagement and the influence of special interests and political parties. Designed to be accessible to anyone interested in the future of American democracy, the book includes boxes (titled "What Matters") that succinctly summarize the authors' data into easily readable analyses. Daniel A. Smith is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida. Caroline J. Tolbert is Associate Professor of Political Science at Kent State University.

Direct Democracy Practices at the Local Level
Direct Democracy Practices at the Local Level

Author: Premat, Christophe Emmanuel

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2022-02-18

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1799873064

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Direct democracy, or pure democracy, is a concept spreading throughout the world, now adopted by nearly 30 countries on the national level. While the concept is not new, it is important to investigate the current benefits or hinderances of direct democracy related to local governments so that they may be implemented further. Direct Democracy Practices at the Local Level deepens the knowledge of direct democracy in political science. This book explores how local governments utilize these instruments in international governments and analyzes a series of popular initiatives and local referenda to how successful these initiatives are. Covering topics such as religious rights, street committees, and climate change, this book is essential for political science students and professors, policymakers, faculty, local governments, academicians, and researchers in political science with an interest in direct democracy procedures in representative systems.

Initiative and Referendum
Initiative and Referendum

Author: Geoffrey de Q. Walker

Publisher:

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13:

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Monograph examining the history of direct legislation which presents the case for the devolution of political power to the people. Includes references and an index. The author heads the University of Queensland's law school.