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New Strategies and Techniques »

A "Plan B" when Congress doesn't Represent: Better and National Ballot Initiatives

Why Is This Idea Important?: 1. Congress is failing to represent the majority on war and peace, on privacy and civil rights, on who gets bailed out, on health care; all the top issues. 2. People clamor for participation on the streets and internet. 3. The ballot initiative tool has worked OK for a century hear and 161 years in Switzerland. 4. Ways to fix problems with ballot initiatives have been agreed on for decades, but politicians merely make them harder, which doesn't affect the wealthy much, who can also buy the votes of representatives.

Few believe that torture, perpetual wars and debt, domestic spying, and impunity for their perpetrators represent America. Congress rolls over for them, and actively prevents the majority from even participating - such as keeping single-payer health care advocates from the current debate.

Few know that ballot initiatives and referendums are the origin of most reform, such as women's suffrage (passed in 13 states before Congress went along), "Sunshine" laws, publicly financed elections (passed by initiative in 6 of 7 states having them), medical marijuana (in 9 of 13 states) and increasing minimum wages (in all 6 states that tried in 2006). See http://Vote.org/initiatives for more examples and references. The media have played up the problem initiatives.

The Swiss have kept their Parliament representative and humble with NATIONAL ballot initiatives since 1848. One result of them voting 3-7 times a year is the highest news readership in the world. Empowerment brings responsible behavior. The Swiss call their system "co-determination" -it works for all relationships! The best project for better and national ballot initiatives is at http://Vote.org

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Submitted by evan 4 years ago

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Comments (21)

  1. Unsubscribed User

    This proposal is not exactly the same as existing state-level initiative procedure. This proposal incorporates deliberation by a randomly selected group of citizens to improve the initiative text and incorporate constructive criticism.

    4 years ago
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  2. Unsubscribed User

    Gay supporters should NOT fear ballot initiatives:

    1. Newsweek Poll shows surge in support for gay marriage: http://www.newsweek.com/id/172399 1 month after Proposition 8, etc.

    2. This shows anti-gay initiatives losing 2% support a year: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/04/will-iowans-uphold-gay-marriage.html

    Ballot initiatives put ignorance and bigotry on the biggest "table" -the ballot- where they are exposed and are worn away.

    4 years ago
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  3. Unsubscribed User

    We need the National Initiative. Congress is bought and paid for.

    4 years ago
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  4. Unsubscribed User

    This system certainly didn't work for California and it won't work for the US as a whole. When the California legislature became so polarized they couldn't fund government operations, the governors turned to ballot initiatives. 20-25 years later, the government is still the most dysfunctional one in the US and plebiscite, ballot initiatives have become so narrowly focused they don't capture the imagination of anyone. Worst idea a represetnative democracy could possibly adopt. Our system isn't perfect, but we are the longest surviving system of government with no significant changes, today. This would fundamentally alter it.

    4 years ago
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  5. Unsubscribed User

    ONLY Switzerland has NATIONAL ballot initiatives and it's worked great for 160 years. The difference is in the details: It's much easier for regular people to petition an initiative onto the ballot in Switzerland. In California it costs a lot. There are other improvements in the National Ballot Initiative at http://Vote.org. Alex, I suggest you read about the project before you diss the idea of democracy.

    Here in Colo., initiatives gave us the country's first Renewable Energy Mandate (Amendment 37), the country's strongest ban on lobbyists giving politicians ANYTHING (41), campaign finance reform (27), increased K-12 funding (23), Background Checks at Gun Shows (22), Medical Marijuana (20), Campaign Finance Reform (15) cleaning up huge hog farms (14), Term Limits (12), etc. just in the last 6 general elections.

    4 years ago
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  6. grassrootsunity

    "When the people lead the leaders must follow." I think that an informed public would do a much better job of deciding on the broad outlines of our governance than the bought off politicians. We know enough to put corporations in their place when necessary. Politicians don't, they go to the corporate trough on bended knee and then give away public resources to private interests. Let's give the people a real seat at the table of power. I like that web site www.vote.org.

    4 years ago
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  7. Unsubscribed User

    Give it a try, but it would probably crash and burn in a large, heterogeneous country. Bet it worked great in Athens and small towns in New England. Costs a lot in California.

    4 years ago
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  8. seacrews

    Yes, we need to let the people decide! Already the people want to end war, have one-payer nationalized health care, grow hemp to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and create food, fuel and fiber. If corporate media were working for the people instead of the corporations, what a different world this would be!

    People Unite and take back your Power!

    4 years ago
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  9. Unsubscribed User

    Finserra, the best-selling book "The Wisdom of Crowds" gives overwhelming evidence that large, diverse groups make BETTER decisions than smaller groups, or any "elite." People's prejudices and misunderstandings tend to cancel each other out.

    4 years ago
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  10. dfgrbac

    The comparisons to California and other state initiatives are not valid. Those processes are too controlled by the state governments and don't restrict who can advertise for or against initiatives. The National Initiative for Democracy does remove those government influences and restrict advertising so powerful money interests are not allowed to influence an election.

    If we want to empower our citizens to protect themselves from government abuse, democracy is the only way to do that. Freedom and democracy are intimately connected.

    4 years ago
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  11. lynne

    I agree that direct democracy, having citizens empowered to be the 4th check in our system of checks and balances, is necessary to get government FOR the PEOPLE.

    With respect to the comment that it works for Switzerland because it is small and homogenous, look back at history. Switzerland adopted direct democracy in 1848 after a bloody civil war. They had 3 different religions, 3 different languages, no natural resources... a very dysfunctional situation. Today they are educated, wealthy and peace loving.

    There is hope for our society and we must take action.

    4 years ago
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  12. folkwoman1234

    While I appreciate this movement and think it will empower more people to participate in leadership for the best of democracy, I also realize that there is still travmendous competittion for opportunities that have put very fine minorities on the very short end of the stick. I am a white woman I do know that there would still be great silence around the issue of discrimination and ingratitude for money's used to bring the meritorious skills to the disadvantaged.

    There's a lot of money that goes into campaigns of this sort, so there must be a way to limit the amount of money that can influence beyond a moral sense.

    3 years ago
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  13. evan

    Folkwoman, the National Initiative prohibits any corporate donations to initiative campaigns, and insures we know who the people contributing are. While some will vote selfishly, others vote sympathetically. We think that participating in power will teach people cooperation wins over competition.

    3 years ago
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  14. hina

    I live in California. I know that it is all about by whom and how the initiative is written. We are an example of how NOT to do it. If the initiative could be composed in a dialogical, deliberative, diverse process then maybe.

    It also may reduce the issue to narrower considerations. I would love to see us leave the "sound bite" mentality behind so we can honor the complexity in most issues.

    3 years ago
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  15. jpritikin

    The initiative process in California is broken. That's why the National Initiative for Democracy convenes a deliberative committee of randomly selected citizens to receive testimony and rewrite the initiative incorporating compromise and constructive criticism. The "sound bite" mentality is corrected by broadcasting the public hearing and deliberations via all medium: newspapers, TV, internet, etc.

    3 years ago
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  16. Debra Bryant

    Do a search in Google on "Government Wealth" then if you are inclined, support this man that has provided this great service for us that make up the USA. We need volunteers to audit their city, county, state, etc...

    3 years ago
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  17. jwelborn3434

    As a wise man once said, and I have witnessed many times, "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups!"

    3 years ago
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  18. evan

    jwelborn, check out the best-selling "The Wisdom of Crowds," which gives overwhelming evidence that large, diverse groups make better decisions than ANY elite, let alone the "best Congress money can buy."

    3 years ago
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  19. jwelborn3434

    evan, I will look for that book, but base my opinions mainly on my own observations.

    I have witnessed large, diverse crowds, made up of people who are calm, peaceful, and reasonable as individual, degenerate into destructive mobs in a matter of minutes.

    Group think, and herd mentality can be very dangerous. Most destructive rioters can't remember afterward why they did what they did, they just "went along with the crowd." Excited emotions are contagious and overwhelm rational thought.

    3 years ago
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  20. evan

    Jwelborn, disempowered people get violent. People who can control their government at the ballot box don't. This is seen best in Switzerland, the only country with national ballot initiatives, with the results noted in my original post.

    3 years ago
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  21. jwelborn3434

    I have no problem with grassroots initiatives. I am pointing out that they need to be accomplished by a host of individuals, rather than a homogenized crowd. When people begin to think of them selves as merely an anonymous part of the group, it lends itself irresponsibility through a reduced fear of consequences.

    3 years ago
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