Author: Philip L. Dubois Publisher: Algora Publishing ISBN: 0875863124 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 278
Book Description
This book describes the history of the initiative process and the major issues that have arisen during its increasing use in recent years. By elucidating the problems that have arisen and their possible solutions, the authors seek both to inform the debate about the wisdom of the initiative and to offer suggestions for improvement to jurisdictions that choose to use the process. With the aid of more than 40 charts and tables, the authors compare the major features of the initiative in the American jurisdictions that have adopted the procedure-24 states and the District of Columbia. They draw particularly on the experience in California, the most frequent U.S. user of the initiative and a major battleground in the development of ideas about the process. The book also discusses the use of the initiative in other countries, particularly Switzerland, where the process originated and the only other major country in the world that makes extensive use of the initiative today.
Author: Joseph F. Zimmerman Publisher: State University of New York Press ISBN: 1438453396 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 250
Book Description
The initiative is the product of the populist movement, which in the late nineteenth century sought to increase voter control of what were viewed as unrepresentative state and local governments. Today, twenty-four states allow registered voters to place proposed state laws on the referendum ballot, and eighteen states authorize voters to place proposed state constitutional amendments on the referendum ballot by collecting a specified number of valid voter signatures. Numerous local governments have a charter provision or a state law provision allowing voters to employ the popular lawmaking device. In The Initiative, Second Edition, Joseph F. Zimmerman traces the origin and spread of the initiative in the United States. The initiative has been a controversial device since first being introduced in South Dakota in 1898, with arguments both in support and in opposition. Zimmerman examines and evaluates both the legal foundation of the initiative, and the arguments against its use. He then concludes with a chapter that develops model constitutional, statutory, and local government charter provisions to assist jurisdictions and their voters contemplating adoption of the initiative or amendment of already existing constitutional, statutory, and charter initiative provisions.
Author: Craig Volden Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 0521761522 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 261
Book Description
This book explores why some members of Congress are more effective than others at navigating the legislative process and what this means for how Congress is organized and what policies it produces. Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman develop a new metric of individual legislator effectiveness (the Legislative Effectiveness Score) that will be of interest to scholars, voters, and politicians alike. They use these scores to study party influence in Congress, the successes or failures of women and African Americans in Congress, policy gridlock, and the specific strategies that lawmakers employ to advance their agendas.
Author: Daniel A. Smith Publisher: University of Michigan Press ISBN: 0472024256 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 248
Book Description
"This body of research not only passes academic muster but is the best guidepost in existence for activists who are trying to use the ballot initiative process for larger policy and political objectives." --Kristina Wilfore, Executive Director, Ballot Initiative Strategy Center and Foundation Educated by Initiative moves beyond previous evaluations of public policy to emphasize the educational importance of the initiative process itself. Since a majority of ballots ultimately fail or get overturned by the courts, Smith and Tolbert suggest that the educational consequences of initiative voting may be more important than the outcomes of the ballots themselves. The result is a fascinating and thoroughly-researched book about how direct democracy teaches citizens about politics, voting, civic engagement and the influence of special interests and political parties. Designed to be accessible to anyone interested in the future of American democracy, the book includes boxes (titled "What Matters") that succinctly summarize the authors' data into easily readable analyses. Daniel A. Smith is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida. Caroline J. Tolbert is Associate Professor of Political Science at Kent State University.
Author: Joseph Francis Zimmerman Publisher: Greenwood ISBN: Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 232
Book Description
The Initiative is a device that allows voters to propose and ratify constitutional amendments, city charter amendments, statutes, and ordinances. The Initiative is a citizen solution to the problem of unrepresentative legislative bodies that are more responsive to special interests than to the voters. Although the use of the Initiative has been subjected to strong criticism--deservingly so in California--the device generally has not been overused and has been effective when employed.
Author: Philip L. Dubois
Author: Joseph F. Zimmerman
Author: Oregon. Office of the Secretary of State
Author: Emmet O'Neal
Author: 
Author: Craig Volden
Author: Daniel A. Smith
Author: David D. Schmidt
Author: Joseph Francis Zimmerman
Author: William Horace Brown