Archives for April 2009
Do you believe in good government? Do you want to make a difference in your state?
If the answers to these questions are “yes”, Citizens in Charge Foundation wants you to apply to be a Citizen State Coordinator. We are seeking leaders to organize grassroots activists at the local and state level to protect and defend ballot initiative and referendum (I&R), the process which allows citizens to hold government accountable and reform it when necessary.
Wyoming’s initiative and referendum pioneer was State Rep. L. C.
Tidball of Sheridan. In the early 1890s Tidball was one of the first state
legislators in the nation - possibly the very first - to introduce a bill to
amend a state constitution to provide for statewide I&R.
An Oklahoma constitutional amend that would tie the number of signatures to the governor’s race in presidential election years has passed the House and Senate and will now go to the people for a vote. SJR 13 will effectively open up the initiative process since less people vote in races for governor than for president. The bill is part of a series that is aimed empowering citizens by opening up the state’s initiative process.
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While some in the Missouri legislature would like to see the initiative process restricted, a Senate committee gave approval today of a bill that would open up the state’s initiative process. The Senate Elections Committee voted 9-0 to send SB 569 to the full Senate for a vote.
Today, Citizens in Charge Foundation released a new video entitiled “A History Lesson from a Four Year Old.”
A four year old takes time to give grown-ups an American history lesson. Watch him explain the Declaration of Independence, the Boston Tea Party and the rights of American citizens. He also explains how the ballot initiative process can help citizens take charge of government!.
With the troubled economy, we hear a lot about how the private sector is more efficient at providing services than government. Arnold Kling has a great piece at the Library of Economics and Liberty on how people in initiative states have the power to force government to compete with the private sector. Kling suggests that citizens can use ballot initiatives to start charter schools to compete with public schools or allow communities to break off of larger cities and form their own government.
Politics Magazine recently highlighted Citizens In Charge Foundation’s Development Director Jonathan Bydlak.
In their “Shop Talk” section the magazine interviewed four fundraisers to discuss politics and the art of funding organizations.
Bydlak, the former fundraising director of the Ron Paul campaign, discussed the importance of incentivizing activists, leveraging technology and attracting small dollar donors.
The battle whether or not to legalize marijuana has gotten a lot more attention in recent weeks. With the drug cartel wars on the Mexican border and the large number of politically activist supporters of the drug, it appears the discussion has reached a fever pitch.
In Denver voters organized, signed petitions and placed the initiative on the ballot. Now voters will be deciding whether police should treat possession of small amounts of marijuana as the lowest priority crime.
Citizens in Charge Foundation has named Linda Curtis, Executive Director of Independent Texans, as the April 2009 recipient of the John Lilburne Award for her commitment to expanding and protecting the rights of Texas citizens to petition their government and voice their opinions.
Did you know that ballot initiative and referendum (I&R) has existed in some form in this country since the 1600s. Citizens of New England placed ordinances and other issues on the agenda for discussion and then a vote during town meetings.
Thomas Jefferson was the first of our founding fathers to propose legislative referendum when he advocated for its addition in the 1775 Virginia state constitution…(Read More)
Back in December, the Maryland Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that mandated signatures on referendum petitions exactly mirror signatures on voter registration cards. So, if someone is registered as “John Paul Smith” but signs a petition “John P. Smith” or “John Smith” then his signature is not counted. Dubbed the “mirror law”, referendum process supporters have charged that it makes it impossible to mount a successful referendum campaign in the state.