A podcast explores the promise and peril of direct democracy
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania — America's founders were notoriously skeptical of direct democracy and gave too much power to citizens. Since...
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania — America's founders were notoriously skeptical of direct democracy and gave too much power to citizens. Since...
While our petition is primarily designed to put voting rights on the November ballot, it contains powerful language that could...
Full name: Richard M. KiernickiHorse riding: Etobicoke CenterTo party: None of the above parties for direct democracyAge: 65Occupation: Senior insurance...
Publication date: 09/05/2022 Casa Ruano is one of Aguilasthe most emblematic buildings, and now the inhabitants have the opportunity to...
by Joel Fox | May 9, 2022 Voter-making through the ballot initiative process has been popular in California for more...
A referendum in a student union is a vote of all students on a particular issue, usually based on one...
by Robb Davis In an in-depth report from April 2011 The Economist cataloged the failure of California's century-old experiment in...
Drawing by Susan Lamia. By Tom Lami "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we first train to deceive!"...
Consensus for the 2022 Ontario Elections None of the above Direct Democracy Party of Ontario Ontario General Election Statistics The...
The Swiss go to the polls on Sunday to decide whether to ban almost all advertising for tobacco products and...
God bless California! When the railroad a century ago used huge amounts of campaign money to overwhelm the California legislature...
The only way society as a whole will benefit is when the metaverse can be used for direct democracy that...
Like neutrality and federalism, direct democracy is part of the Swiss identity. The number of issues put to a vote...
we Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Jeffrey Sutton will deliver the Lane lecture at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at...
Brasov flirts with direct democracy for second year in a row The city has opened a platform for the submission...
In Britain, we rely on our elected politicians to make all decisions, with the cabinet setting the agenda on which...
Reader donations, most of which are no more than $5, are what fund the work of writers like this and...
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - As another election cycle draws closer, conversations are emerging about how to make democracy work for...
On November 2, Colorado voters will have an important decision to make that not only cuts property taxes, but also...
Sometimes it seems like no one likes California direct democracy except the voters. Some lawmakers seem to resent it. In...
Sometimes it seems like no one likes California direct democracy except the voters.Some lawmakers seem to resent it. In the...
In summary Courts and the legislature should avoid challenges to referendum and initiative processes that would hamper the will of...
Debates about how to revive European democracy involve starkly contrasting views on direct democracy. For some, a greater use of...
Nominally Democrat Boulder Chamber of Commerce CEO John Tayer unearths the long-outdated Republican lie that we live in a republic,...
Almost immediately, collecting signatures to qualify an initiative or a referendum for the ballot became a lucrative business. California's foremost...
Reminders in California date back more than a century to a series of reforms enacted from 1910 to 1913 under...
Whether Governor Gavin Newsom survives the September 14 recall election or not, Democrats in the country's largest state are considering...
When the newly elected governor of California, Hiram Johnson, delivered his inaugural address on January 3, 1911, he made a...
In our system, the power to govern comes directly from the people. The Constitution of the United States begins with...
by Matt Qvortrup | August 18, 2021 "When you take responsibility away from people, you make them irresponsible," proclaimed English...
The great Californian reformer, former governor Hiram Johnson, envisioned that "direct democracy" would be an effective brake on the influence...
The great Californian reformer, former Governor Hiram Johnson, envisioned that "direct democracy" would be an effective brake on the influence...
The great Californian reformer, former Governor Hiram Johnson, envisioned that "direct democracy" would be an effective brake on the influence...
The great Californian reformer, former governor Hiram Johnson, envisioned that "direct democracy" would be an effective brake on the influence...
The great Californian reformer, former Governor Hiram Johnson, envisioned that "direct democracy" would be an effective brake on the influence...
The tobacco industry-backed referendum would torpedo Senate Bill 793, a 2020 measure signed by Newsom that bans flavored tobacco products....
The participatory budget has been practiced in Porto Alegre since 1989. Courtesy of Ricardo André Frantz / Wikimedia. by Joe...
Section 1, Article II of the Philippine Constitution states: âThe Philippines is a democratic and republican state. Sovereignty resides with...
The legislature got it with an intrusion into its power by the people of Florida.In the last session, lawmakers passed...
âTaking the testimony of LGBT patients seriously also means that parents should lose their veto over most pediatric care related...
Photography: Benoît LopezJoin us on Telegram and Instagram for the latest news.In 2004, Venezuela, very divided and hyper partisan, organized...
Direct democracy will guide the future of Tulcea in Romania The city plans an online platform to submit and vote...
More than 25 states have initiative and referendum processes, where voters circulating petitions can place policy questions directly on the...
The first year of Boulder Direct Democracy Online, the city's new online petition system, has not been without challenges. Still,...
In 2008, California's deep blue banned same-sex marriage. In 2018, staunchly conservative Arkansas and Missouri raised their minimum wages. And...
For more than a century, California has been an experiment in a form of direct democracy, giving the "people" unprecedented...
The Police Advisory Council launched its appeal last June, after studying such advice in other cities and selecting the best...
By Evan Ravitz Boulder lost 10 people. But this is not "insane". That's because even though 86% of Democrats and...
ROME (AP) - The Italian 5 Star Movement suffered a second blow in a week on Friday after splitting from...
Italy's 5-Star Movement suffered a second blow in a week on Friday after splitting from its co-founding partner who runs...
The citizens of North Clackamas regained their optimism with a historic vote scheduled for April 29 ClackKamas County Commissioner Paul...
“Winds of Change,” the third part of the trilogy that started with The Dandelion Insurrection, is so rich that I...
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in Edmonton on February 25, 2021.JASON FRANSON / The Canadian PressAlberta is gearing up to give...
A citizen climate council met for the last time this weekend to finalize proposals for climate change laws aimed at...
Voters voted in Vista West on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 (Dan Cepeda, Oil City) CASPER, Wyoming. - Wyoming and the...
The majority of Seacoast communities are moving forward with their first half of Town Meetings this week,known as deliberative sessions,...
Boulder continues to address issues with Boulder Direct Democracy Online, the city's new online petition software, ahead of a fast-approaching...
Boulder last week launched a preview of Boulder Direct Democracy Online, the new software that enables online signature collection for...
The recently concluded district-level elections in Jammu and Kashmir could potentially trigger a tantalizing role reversal: the state handing power...
Whatever ultimately happens to the unprecedented agricultural protests that have stirred passions even abroad, it has revealed the flawed nature...
(Matt Rourke | AP file photo) The U.S. Capitol is illuminated by the rising sun on Capitol Hill in Washington...
On the last Sunday in November, Swiss citizens once again rejected efforts by left-wing groups and NGOs to undermine the...
A protest outside the United States Supreme Court Rod Lamkey / DPA In the United States, courts are called after...
California's ballot measurement system provided vital control over the grand governing ideology of the state legislature. The defeat of Proposition...
Voters in El Segundo, Calif., Leave the polling center after voting on March 3, 2020. Courtesy of Ringo HW Chiu...
Columnist Joe Mathews writes for Zócalo Public Square. (Courtesy of Joe Mathews) California has a solution to America's putrid populism...
California has a solution to America's putrid populism and political paralysis: embrace direct democracy at the national level.Allowing Americans to...
Courtesy of David Altman. David Altman is Professor of Political Science at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and has...
I wonder if Janan Ganesh considered the case of Switzerland when writing his article (“Democracy works best when there is...
Democracy, they say, is a complicated business. Let it be mess in the right way Are elections really a means...
The Swiss vote on legislation, not the day-to-day government. Some will say the public doesn't care or aren't smart enough...
GraphicFriday July 24, 2020 On Tuesday, five council members did what many lawyers couldn't, agreeing that state law, not Boulder's...
Scott Bourque/KJZZA constituent signs a petition for a criminal justice reform initiative during a signature collection event at the Farmer's...
Instead of simply begging their representatives to make things right, Americans can use the tools of direct democracy to support...
The powers of direct democracy - initiative, referendum, and recall - have been powerful tools in controlling slow or corrupt...
Thousands of people gathered in Zurich in December 1867 to challenge the political order and demand more democratic rights. Keystone...
The Arizonans pride themselves on being an independent band. We would rather our politicians be mavericks than sheep. We relish...
The Federal Palace in Bern, where the new Swiss parliament began to sit last week. Keystone / Peter Klaunzer The...
On October 3, I had the pleasure of attending the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy in Taiwan and to...
As Americans watch Brexit-related events political unrest in the UK, it is important to remember that the chaos began there...