"In conducting thousands of surveys on almost every conceivable issue for nearly half a century, I have learned three significant things about our fellow citizens. 1. One is that the judgement of the American people is extraordinarily sound. 2. Another is that the public is almost always ahead of its leaders. 3. The third is that the electorate has become better educated and more sophisticated politically than ever before." Dr. George Gallup, August 1978

Ballot Initiatives Flourishing
as Way to Bypass Politicians
By M. Dane Waters
Founder, Initiative & Referendum Institute
Opinion-Editorial Response to Todd S. Purdum's March 31, 1998 Article
in The New York Times

Governor Woodrow Wilson once proclaimed, "we are cleaning house and in order to clean house the one thing we need is a good broom. Initiative and Referendum are good brooms".

In 1898, the voters in South Dakota approved statewide Initiative and Referendum - the first state to do so. 100 years later, 24 states have this process. The voters in 26 states are still waiting.

Initiative - defined as the people's ability to initiate legislation or amendments - and Referendum - defined as the people's ability to refer newly enacted law, by petition, from the legislature to the ballot for final approval, has wide public support. A recent poll by Rasmussen Research for the Initiative & Referendum Institute shows that voters by a 3-to-1 margin support Initiative and Referendum. Ever since Thomas Jefferson proposed a requirement in the 1775 Virginia state constitution that Virginia's constitution and any subsequent amendments be approved by statewide referendum, the people have fought for the right of Initiative and Referendum. Great leaders from Thomas Jefferson to Woodrow Wilson have supported Initiative and Referendum as a way to hold government more accountable, increase voter participation and serve as a tool to better inform the electorate on important issues of the day.

In a recent article in The New York Times by Tim Purdum, he attempts to make the case that this process is out of control and is not consistent with its original intent. He is wrong.

The Initiative and Referendum process was never intended as a replacement for our current form of government. It is simply a tool for the people to use when the current process isn't working. Look at the issues that have placed before the voters utilizing Initiative and Referendum. In most cases these reforms were proposed because the legislature refused to act or acted in a manner that was not consistent with the views of their constituency - term limits, tax limits, campaign finance reform, environmental reform, affirmative action reform, bilingual education, paycheck protection and educational reform. These reforms were proposed by the people because legislators were unwilling to do the job that they had been elected to do. Legislators were afraid to take a position and act on these issues because they didn't want to jeopardize their re-election chances or anger the special interest that provided the bulk of their campaign funds.

In his article, Purdum incorrectly implies that Initiative and Referendum is only being used to further a conservative agenda. The process is being used by all different groups - conservatives, liberals and moderates alike. The process is simply a mechanism for the people to use when an out of touch legislature ignores them - no matter what party or ideological affiliation they support.

Every year, hundreds of initiatives are proposed by the people, but only a handful actually make it to the ballot. Even then, regardless of the amount of money spent for or against an initiative, it is difficult to get an issue passed that is not supported by the people. In most cases special interest groups have outspent their opposition by 4 or 5 to 1 and still lost. Of all the initiatives that appeared on state ballots from 1976-1992, only 43.6 percent passed. Three states placed over 50 initiatives on their state ballots between 1976 and 1992: California (77 initiatives, 42.9 percent passed); Colorado (51 initiatives, 51 percent passed); and Oregon (58 initiatives, 36.2 percent passed).

But what about the money? Why does it cost so much to do a petition drive? Quite simply because the people in power - the state legislators - are afraid of the process. Career politicians fear that Initiative and Referendum will threaten their stranglehold on power and have methodically passed laws that have made utilizing the process more and more difficult. They realize its potential when utilized by the people and they want it stopped. In almost every state where the process exists, the legislature has either enacted or is in the process of enacting legislation that hinders or outright abolishes the process. It is unfortunate that a petition drive in California costs over a million dollars. If the elected officials in California believe that this much money shouldn't be spent on collecting signatures, then make the process more accessible and useable to the people.

The Initiative and Referendum process is a valuable tool for the people to utilize. It has existed for 100 years and has not lead to the enactment of any laws or amendments that have adversely affected the people or their system of government. It is a compliment to the form of government that our states and nation were founded on - not a replacement. As Thomas Jefferson said, "I know of no safe repository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves".