The ballot initiative process is a primary way for Californians to participate in direct democracy. Ballot initiatives allow voters to voice and/or pass a proposed statute or constitutional amendment. Proponents resort to the initiative process for two main reasons. First, proponents view initiatives as a way to bypass the legislature; after the legislature has rejected their proposal, proponents believe they can achieve a more desirable outcome by appealing directly to the people (Rarick, 138). Second, proponents use the initiative process to prevent reversal by future legislatures. In other words, they are able to “lock in their gains” because the legislature cannot amend or repeal initiatives without voter consent (Rarick, 138).
The force
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Status Quo & Policy Alternatives
Currently, sponsors of ballot initiative campaigns are not limited to a particular amount, which affords leverage such as expertise in public opinion polling, computer-targeted mailing, and television advertising to the wealthier party. To combat the defects of this form of direct democracy, reformers have proposed several policy alternatives. One alternative is to provide better information. According to a 2002 state commission and recent report by the Center for Governmental Studies, roughly a third of initiatives since 2000 have more than 5000 words, which is too long and too confusing for the majority of voters (Mathews and Paul, 173). Another alternative is to raise restrictions on the process (e.g. limiting the issues subject to initiative or raising the number of signatures required to qualify an initiative). Another idea is to remove money from the process; some groups have sought to impose limits on donations to initiative campaigns and ban paid petition
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The general perception of voters is that they are ill-informed and ill-equipped to vote on complex measures. Nonetheless, Ethan Rarick argues that voters generally act rationally and that they “rely on cues such as endorsements from people or organizations they trust to make their decisions.” (143). By providing more information and resources to voters, more constituents will be able to vote wisely and
First, the population is changing overtime, which is causing the demand of new schools, buildings, and transportations. These feature projects requires a lot funds, which the government doesn’t have. Secondly, Most of the budget in California comes from income taxes, which are used to pay the interest debt leaving the state with nothing. Thirdly, we have the interest groups that are more engaged into political than us the people. We should get involve more in public policies and affairs that will affect us.
To remedy the digital divide, people are allowed to request a paper ballot to be sent to their residence. This applies to civic engagement, because it may be important for people who are trying to get others involved to use online and paper methods. After the study was completed, Cann found that there is very little difference between the knowledge gained from the paper voter guide and the postcard. Cann used several measurements of knowledge to determine how voters gained information from the two methods. Measurements included recognition on the ballot, recall of candidate names, recognition of candidate information, ballot issue information, combined with subjectiveness level of informedness and voter turnout rates.
Ballot-laws determine whether a candidate’s name will be on the ballot. By making it more tough for their names to get on through percentages
(Mayhew p. 129). The individual politician is incentivized through this method to focus only on issues that will benefit themselves, and ultimately their
This is due to a vote that made it possible for the vast Latino population in Salinas to obtain representation to the point of taking over local government. Salinas Valley has been shaped dramatically in the time before and after the major switch to district elections from at-large elections. Traditionally, the Latino population was largely underrepresented in local government, despite their makeup in the population. Thus, their role in the Salinas and Monterey County local government has made an enormous impact
In accordance with the theories of John Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, this paper will argue that through both electioneering campaigns and legislative action, representatives and senators in the Arizona State Legislature respond to cues from an electorate dissatisfied with the deliberative nature of the democratic process. Although the desired “stealth democracy” is ultimately impossible to fully implement among an ideologically diverse yet largely apathetic population, controversial measures such as S.B. 1070 and S.B. 1062 exemplify attempts made by the legislature to pass populist bills expeditiously without great scrutiny. As this paper will detail, measures such as these often violate the provisions of the federal Constitution and
When you go and vote for president, do you think your vote goes toward the decision of who becomes president? If you do, think again because the system is not as clear cut as it seems. In 1787 during the Constitutional Convention, the delegates discussed a way to vote for president without having the passions of the people and average voters getting in the way. The Electoral College has 538 members total which are divided among states, with each state receiving the amount of electoral votes that corresponds with their population. The outdated system known as the Electoral College, should officially be abolished from the process of the presidential election in the United States.
Due to recent political upset and turmoil in the United States government, there has been a growing movement among some California residents that their state should secede and form a new country. However outlandish this idea may seem to some some individuals, secession may actually prove to be more beneficial for California citizens in the long run. There have already been a few proposals for how to split of the state of California in order to make it more governable. However, these ideas simple chop California into pieces rather than addresses the root of the issue. Because of California’s unique political ideology and efficient government system, it would be most beneficial for the state to secede from the United States in order to escape
When voters aren’t voting this can be a problem. One issue caused by low voter turnout is that when only a few people vote they don’t accurately represent
Many people have often wondered how politicians would organize legislative activity if given the chance to start anew and make things the way they want them. The Progressive takeover of governmental activities in California in 1910 presented a unique opportunity to study such a phenomenon in its natural occurring state. The Progressives made it as hard as they could to crush the party system and to keep it from returning. In particular, “they made it nearly impossible for party activists outside government to organize, coordinate actions, keep informed about legislative activities, or, perhaps most importantly, influence party nominations to office.”
As humans, we like to that we are informed. Statistics show that, unfortunately, this isn 't the case when it comes to voting. For example, forty one percent of Americans think that foreign aid is one of the top two components of our federal budget. When, it really only takes up less than one percent. Where do we get this number that 's astronomically off?
The United States currently faces a severe problem with one of their governmental processes. In the democratic system of the United States, politicians are elected by voting from the citizens, in most cases. The problem the United States is facing is that people are no longer voting in elections for officials. This problem is discussed in the article, “In praise of low voter turnout”, written by Charles Krauthammer. The main idea behind this article is that voters are no longer interested in politics, as they were in previous generations.
America is regarded highly in the world, due to its economic, political, as well as social development. As countries mature politically, voter turnout is expected to increase. This is the case for most industrialized nations who experience an average voter turnout above 70%. However, it is troubling to see that America still lags below 60% in voter turnout. Viewed as one of the healthiest democracies in the world, the United States is always referred to as an example that other countries should follow.
Elongating the chances for the state legislature to take action and provide
Others, on the other hand, vote on how they feel regardless of all the pressure that is put on them. We underestimate the thought and studying that goes into a single vote that involves interactions between the President, special interest groups, political contributors, constituents, the media and party leadership. Five factors are found in the decision making process: information gathering, constituency interests, expert opinions, political ramifications, and personal