Archives for September 2010

Good news out of Maryland today in the Washington Post. There had been some shenanigans with thousands of signatures being tossed out by election officials and a judge:

NPR’s Alan Greenblatt put out a piece today talking about what’s on the ballot this November. Citizens in Charge President Paul Jacob talked with Alan about the initiative process and gave his comments on the topic.

Make sure to check out the article here.

 

Citizens in Charge President Paul Jacob’s Townhall column yesterday talks about what’s on the ballot around the country this November:

Two people are under indictment on a total of eight charges of petition fraud following action last week by Oregon’s Secretary of State. One individual is accused of forging the signatures of six deceased voters Another person is accused of signing a statement saying he collected signatures that were actually collected by a person who was not authorized to collect signatures.

I just posted a new video on our YouTube Channel; it’s a quick overview of some of the panels and topics discussed at the U.S. Conference on I&R out in San Francisco in July and August.

Check it out here.

Earlier this year, Brandon Holmes and I traveled to Big Spring, TX to talk with folks there whose citizen rights were being violated. The city council held an illegal meeting in order to stifle their citizen initiative.

A settlement was eventually reached after citizens filed a lawsuit over the matter.

Let Kansans Vote on Issues

Tue, Sep 21 2010 by Staff

Citizens in Charge President Paul Jacob has a Letter to the Editor published in today’s Wichita Eagle to dispel some myths about the initiative process that have been put forward by some in Kansas:

The James Madison Center for Free Speech in Terre Haute, Indiana issued the following press release today about a very important case that could potentially come before the U.S. Supreme Court in the near future:

It's Constitution Day

Fri, Sep 17 2010 by Staff

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances…

New Research from BallotPedia

Fri, Sep 10 2010 by Staff

BallotPedia has come out with a bunch of new research on local school bond and tax elections around the country. Citizens in Charge and Citizens in Charge Foundation primarily deal with initiative & referendum at the state level, so this more in depth look at local school bond and tax issues is interesting.

(LAKE RIDGE, VA) – Today, Citizens in Charge Foundation, a national voter rights group focused on the ballot initiative and referendum process, presented Kansas Attorney General Steve Six with the September 2010 Lilburne Award. Steve is honored this month for agreeing with, rather than fighting, the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging Kansas’ residency requirement for petition circulators, which resulted in U.S. District Judge Sam Crow permanently enjoining enforcement of the statute as an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment rights of citizens.

Bang for Your Buck

Wed, Sep 1 2010 by Staff

Apparently a new record was set for spending on an initiative in Washington State recently. The American Beverage Association has plopped down over $14 million to try and overturn a soda tax passed by the State Legislature.