Monthly Archive for Initiative and Referendum
Initiative and Referendum Stories Posted in August 2008
Fighting A Ballot Question
Category: Initiative and Referendum · State: Connecticut · Source: Hartford Courant
Tens of thousands of dollars is being raised in an effort to persuade Connecticut voters to reject a proposal on the November ballot to reopen the state constitution. The state's largest teachers union, the Connecticut Education Association, has contributed $40,000 to the group "Vote No: Protect Our Constitution." Planned Parenthood of Connecticut has given $5,000 to the same cause, according to filings with the State Elections Enforcement Commission. That news prompted one member of the group pushing to change the constitution, the Connecticut Constitution Convention Campaign, to send out e-mails urging its members to contribute. The campaign is a coalition of groups that wants voters to approve a state convention so the Connecticut constitution can be changed. The Connecticut Constitution Convention Campaign has raised $1,110.
Our View: Ballot initiatives could give voters greater voice
Category: Initiative and Referendum · State: Connecticut · Source: Norwich Bulletin
Should Connecticut citizens have the right to petition issues onto a ballot for a statewide vote? That’s the question that will be asked if voters approve a referendum question in November calling for a constitutional convention. Thirty-one states now allow ballot initiatives, whereby citizens can bypass the legislative process and petition to have referendum questions on issues put directly to voters for approval or rejection. There are several groups in the state that support amending the state constitution to allow ballot initiatives — and hope a constitutional convention will serve as the vehicle for that.
Backers face trouble with ballot initiatives
Category: Arizona · State: Arizona · Source: Arizona Republic
Too many proposals and not enough time are adding up to heartburn for backers of several state ballot initiatives. Some of the proposals that supporters hope to put before voters this November are chalking up higher-than-normal error rates, potentially imperiling their chances of getting on the ballot. This could have consequences for ballot measures that seek to preserve state trust land, to increase the state sales tax to pay for transportation projects and to block any attempt to institute a real-estate-transfer tax.
Opinion: Commentary - A modern slingshot for voters
Category: Initiative and Referendum · State: · Source: Washington Examiner
Oddsmakers didn’t favor diminutive David over giant Goliath. But in that mismatch of biblical proportions, David had a secret weapon: a slingshot. The voter initiative process — whereby citizens in 24 states and a majority of our country’s localities can place issues directly on the ballot for a decision by their fellow citizens — looks like nothing bigger than a slingshot next to the Goliath powers of government. But sometimes the slingshot works. From the property tax-cutting Proposition 13 in the 1970s to the sweep of term limits in the 1990s, citizens have increased their control over elected officials using this one weapon. Of course, had Goliath been smarter, or allotted more time for reflection prior to meeting David’s rock, he would no doubt have advocated restrictions on the possession and use of slingshots.
Initiatives a Bright Spot for Colorado GOP
Category: Initiative and Referendum · State: Colorado · Source: New West Politics
While the decline of Republican dominance in Colorado has been the topic of endless media speculation, the GOP has one bright spot heading toward November: The initiative process. A report carried in this week’s LA Times falsely suggested otherwise. Titled “GOP suffering from a lack of (ballot) initiative,” reporters Dan Morain and Nicholas Riccardi eagerly proclaimed that “The strategy of pushing propositions likely to draw conservatives to the polls has faltered as Republicans face mishaps in drafting measures and a more aggressive opposition.” While Morain and Riccardi are right that Colorado initiatives are facing aggressive opposition from well-funded liberals, including multiple millionaire and labor-backed lawsuits, the fact remains that of the four initiatives certified for the November ballot, all represent conservative or free-market efforts. As of Wednesday, not a single liberal initiative had been approved. But Morain and Riccardi got this basic fact wrong as well, writing, “. . . Democrats have succeeded in qualifying measures of their own [in Colorado].”
GOP suffering from a lack of (ballot) initiative
Category: Initiative and Referendum · State: · Source: LA Times
In 2004, Republicans managed to put measures on the ballot in 11 states to ban same-sex marriage, a red-hot family values issue that boosted conservative turnout and played a role in President Bush's reelection. The strategy seemed certain to have a prominent place in the GOP political playbook. But four years later, few key battleground states will vote on propositions likely to excite conservatives. Republicans have been tripped up by mishaps and errors that have kept measures off the ballot. One leading ballot measure activist was sidelined for this November's contests after being arrested in Oklahoma on charges of violating petition rules. Some conservative strategists also blame a lack of new ideas for initiatives. They say the right, beaten down by the Republican Party's dismal rankings in the polls and its lukewarm electoral prospects, has no stomach this year for expensive initiative battles. "There has been a lack of funding on the right side, up and down. The right is despondent and demoralized," said Tim Mooney, an Arizona initiative consultant.
Other Monthly Archives for Initiative and Referendum
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