citizens in charge

United States District Court Judge Robert Holmes Bell has made Michigan the ninth state to see a requirement that campaign workers who circulate petitions be residents of the state struck down. In 2008 federal appeals courts struck down residency requirements in Ohio, Arizona and Oklahoma. Residency requirements of some kind have previously been ruled unconstitutional in California, Colorado, Wisconsin, Illinois, and New York.

At a time when Californians’ ballot initiative & referendum rights have been under sustained attack, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed three bills that he believes would harm grassroots petitioning efforts.

Last Saturday tens of thousands of Americans from every part of the country gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC to protest recent and proposed massve increases in the power of the federal government. Among those who came to Washington to make their voices heard were Democrats, Republicans, independents, Libertarians and folks from all other political stripes.