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Articles on Direct democracy

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A home in rural Bingham, Maine, displays signs protesting a Quebec-to-New England hydropower corridor that voters rejected in a referendum vote. AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

Legislative inaction and dissatisfaction with one-party control lead to more issues going directly to voters in ballot initiatives, with 60% of them in six states

Voters frustrated by statehouse politics are bypassing elected representatives and enacting laws using direct democracy to preserve abortion rights, raise the minimum wage and rein in state spending.
Supporters of Issue 1, which would codify reproductive rights, including abortion, in the Ohio Constitution, cheer election results on Nov. 7, 2023. Andrew Spear/Getty Images

Voters don’t always have final say – state legislatures and governors are increasingly undermining ballot measures that win

Election year 2024 will see citizen initiatives on the ballot across the country, some focused on abortion rights. But there’s a growing trend of lawmakers altering initiatives after they have passed.
France’s Convention for the Climate, held from 2019 to 2020, brought together 150 randomly selected citizens and asked them define measures to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990. Katrin Baumann/CCC

Citizen assemblies and the challenges of democratic equality

Decision-making bodies created by random selection, citizens’ assemblies are creating a sense of optimism about democracy among those who have heard about or taken part in them.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (standing) talks with volunteers who are phone-banking against the recall on Aug. 13, 2021, in San Francisco. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

California recall: There’s a method to what looks like madness

It’s easy to make fun of California politics. But a longtime scholar of those politics says the attempt to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom is part of a long-running attempt to hold government accountable.
Kurdish fighters in Syria say the U.S. is abandoning its allies and potentially empowering the Islamic State by withdrawing from northeastern Syria and allowing a Turkish assault, Oct. 7, 2019. AP Photo

Turkish attack on Syria endangers a remarkable democratic experiment by the Kurds

Since defending northern Syria from the Islamic State, Kurdish people have established an egalitarian society where women are equal, democracy is direct and religious freedom is guaranteed.
Broken campaign promises have supporters wondering whether Andrés Manuel López Obrador will follow through on his commitment to ‘transform’ Mexico. Reuters/Henry Romero

López Obrador takes power in Mexico after an unstable transition and broken campaign promises

Mexicans want leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador to transform the country. But the months leading up to his inauguration sent worrying signs about how he he will use the massive power of his office.
Utah residents show support for a ballot initiative that would legalize medical marijuana in the state. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

Marijuana is on the ballot in four states, but legalization may soon stall, researchers say

Midterm voters in Utah, Missouri, Michigan and North Dakota will decide whether to join the 31 US states that have some form of legal marijuana. But ballot initiatives can only take pot so far.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg argues his social network can support more civic engagement. Ben Margot/AP Photo

Can Silicon Valley’s autocrats save democracy?

While Facebook’s Zuckerberg suggested as much recently, companies run like autocracies cannot fulfill technology’s promise of reinvigorating the democratic process.
The imperative for major reform of Australia’s political and policy processes is more real and urgent than ever. AAP/Lukas Coch

Australia needs to lead again on democratic innovation

Australia’s national politicians again need to step up and lead the way on the inevitable process of national and global democratic innovation.

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