tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/legislators-76056/articlesLegislators – The Conversation2023-07-03T11:36:13Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2085112023-07-03T11:36:13Z2023-07-03T11:36:13ZFour priorities for Nigeria’s newly elected national assembly<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534306/original/file-20230627-17-o3m7yd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nigeria's Senate president, Godswill Akpabio (middle), takes the oath of office on 13 June 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/nigerias-senate-president-godswill-akpabio-takes-oath-of-news-photo/1258664363?adppopup=true">Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nigeria’s <a href="https://nass.gov.ng/">National Assembly</a> – the 10th since independence – was <a href="https://www.channelstv.com/2023/06/13/live-inauguration-of-10th-national-assembly/">inaugurated</a> on 13 June 2023. It has two arms: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The 109 senators and 360 representatives were elected on 25 February 2023. Godswill Akpabio was elected Senate president and Tajudeen Abass House of Representatives speaker. </p>
<p>Its primary responsibility is lawmaking for effective administration of the state. In Nigeria, the power of the National Assembly’s two houses to legislate is enshrined in <a href="https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Nigeria_1999.pdf#page=21">section 4 of the 1999 constitution</a>. </p>
<p>The constitution also enables the National Assembly to scrutinise and monitor executive activities. <a href="https://www.lawglobalhub.com/section-80-89/#Section_88_of_the_Nigerian_Constitution">Sections 88</a> and <a href="https://www.lawglobalhub.com/section-80-89/#Section_88_of_the_Nigerian_Constitution">89</a> of the constitution set out its the oversight powers.</p>
<p>Overseeing the executive requires a determined and strong legislative institution committed to its constitutional responsibilities. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BWHe7SMAAAAJ&hl=en">researcher with expertise in legislative studies</a> and a published <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-93509-6_7">paper</a> on legislative oversight in Nigeria, I think for the 10th Assembly to succeed in discharging its constitutional responsibilities, it should focus on four critical issues. </p>
<h2>Issues deserving attention</h2>
<p>I think the National Assembly should focus on the following issues for the next four years: the economy; power supply; infrastructure; and security. </p>
<p><strong>The economy</strong></p>
<p>First, the national economic situation is worsening. Nigeria is grappling with <a href="https://www.cbn.gov.ng/rates/inflrates.asp?year=2023">inflation</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-poverty-profile-is-grim-its-time-to-move-beyond-handouts-163302">extreme poverty</a>. The recent <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerias-fuel-subsidy-removal-will-boost-sovereign-wealth-fund-cash-cio-2023-05-31/">removal of the fuel subsidy</a> will make it harder for people to make a living and survive. Thus, a legislative agenda to redeem the national economy is imperative..</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-economy-four-priorities-president-elect-bola-tinubu-must-deliver-on-189022">Nigeria's economy: four priorities president-elect Bola Tinubu must deliver on</a>
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<p><strong>Power supply</strong></p>
<p>Second, meaningful economic policies and programmes require a regular power supply. Since 1999, an estimated <a href="https://www.thecable.ng/report-nigeria-lost-n11trn-corruption-power-sector-since-1999">N11 trillion</a> (about US$14 billion) has reportedly been committed by successive governments to electricity supply. Yet power is still unreliable. Manufacturers, artisans and citizens depend on alernative sources that <a href="https://punchng.com/nigeria-relies-on-generators-for-75-electricity-report/">generate 75%</a> of their electricity needs. On top of this, a <a href="https://guardian.ng/news/households-under-pressure-as-new-electricity-tariff-due-july-1/">40% electricity tariff hike</a> is due to take off on 1 July. Some manufacturers have <a href="https://www.arise.tv/nigerian-manufacturers-we-may-relocate-to-other-african-countries-over-proposed-40-hike-in-electricity-tariff/">threatened</a> to leave Nigeria if this goes ahead. This will add to the unemployment crisis projected to be <a href="https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2023/03/kpmg-global-economic-outlook-h1-2023-report.pdf#page=47">40.6%</a> in 2023 and worsen the nation’s economic conundrum. A legislative agenda that would address the power sector is imperative to halt the drift.</p>
<p><strong>Infrastructure</strong></p>
<p>The third legislative agenda item should be the country’s infrastructural decay, especially the road networks. Nigeria has <a href="https://dlca.logcluster.org/23-nigeria-road-network">195,000 km</a> of road network of which about 60,000km are paved as at 2019. While the immediate past government constructed or rehabilitated <a href="https://tribuneonlineng.com/buharis-infrastructural-giant-strides/">8,352.9km of roads</a>, much still ought to be done in this area. </p>
<p>Transportation is central to sustainable economic progress and development. The National Assembly should rededicate itself to the scrutiny of the country’s transport sector for an effective supply chain. Lower transport costs will make goods and services more affordable. Infrastructural decay and neglect have contributed to the crisis of governance in Nigeria.</p>
<p><strong>Security</strong></p>
<p>The fourth agenda item should be security. Nigeria is in crisis, <a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-security-situation-has-got-worse-what-tinubus-administration-needs-to-do-about-it-206545">experiencing </a>different kinds of violence. The government is quick to deploy state machinery to suppress and repress direct and cultural violence, such as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58817690">#EndSars</a>, insurgencies, kidnapping, armed robbery and separatist movements. But it has failed to address the most lethal: structural violence, which is the result of failed and failing institutional structures of the state. </p>
<p>One scholar has described <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119240716.ch7#:%7E:text=Structural%20violence%20refers%20to%20a,occur%20in%20more%20equal%20societies">structural violence</a> as “a form of violence wherein social structures or social institutions harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs.” </p>
<p>At the centre of the country’s structural violence is the burgeoning corruption and mismanagement of the nation’s resources. Nigeria is currently <a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/nigeria">ranked</a> 150 out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International. This has eroded the integrity of public institutions and leadership, including the National Assembly. The legislature has a role to play in this direction in reducing violence and improve security through constructive public engagement and transparent accountability. A purposeful monitoring and scrutiny of the implementation of the various economic policies, as the constitution demands, would reduce the scourge of corruption and mismanagement of appropriated resources and guarantee effective public service delivery. There is a need to restore public confidence in government.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-security-situation-has-got-worse-what-tinubus-administration-needs-to-do-about-it-206545">Nigeria's security situation has got worse: what Tinubu's administration needs to do about it</a>
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<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>All the issues are within the oversight competence of the National Assembly. Effective oversight of executive actions is a necessity to boost the fortunes of the nation and rekindle the hope of citizens that entrusted the National Assembly with their collective power for the promotion of their interests.</p>
<p>Since the Fourth Republic <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298659111_Nigeria's_fourth_republic_and_the_challenge_of_a_faltering_democratization">began</a> on 29 May 1999, Nigerians have been waiting in vain for the assembly to fulfil this role. The previous nine legislatures have failed as the central institution of the government. That’s because politics has been about personal power and financial gain. </p>
<p>Under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Olusegun-Obasanjo">from 1999 to 2007</a>, the National Assembly was <a href="https://tribuneonlineng.com/obasanjo-cowed-national-assembly-president-olaitan-ex-ad-house-leader/">unable</a> to assert its relevance. The executive sought to cage and control its activities, against the principle of separation of powers. The <a href="https://thecjid.org/top-10-corruption-scandals-nigerias-national-assembly-hasnt-resolved/">corruption scandals</a> in the legislature since 1999 have dented the assembly’s integrity as the conscience of the public. </p>
<p>The failure of the legislative assemblies since 1999 to do what the constitution expects of them has resulted in the country’s people being unable to meet their basic needs.</p>
<p>When other institutions of the government fail in their responsibilities, the legislature cannot afford to fail its principal, the people. Nigeria’s 10th Assembly can make a difference.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208511/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Omololu Fagbadebo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nigeria’s National Assembly must not shirk its oversight responsibilities, focusing on four priorities will be a good place to start.Omololu Fagbadebo, Research Associate, Durban University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1980252023-02-14T13:25:54Z2023-02-14T13:25:54ZScandals can end congressional careers – which is why the Office of Congressional Ethics regularly faces attempts to rein it in<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509008/original/file-20230208-21-6enk3e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C7%2C5286%2C3494&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The House GOP under new leader Kevin McCarthy, center in front of flag, adopted rules that included changes to operations of the office that conducts investigations of members.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/speaker-of-the-house-kevin-mccarthy-delivers-remarks-after-news-photo/1454752075?phrase=U.S.%20House%20chamber&adppopup=true">Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Members of Congress can have their reputations damaged when caught up in a scandal, as media coverage surrounding George Santos for apparently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/11/nyregion/george-santos-resume.html">lying about his resume</a> and possibly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/09/george-santos-campaign-finance-complaint/">violating campaign finance laws</a> demonstrates. </p>
<p>Scandals can <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2013/09/25/congress-scandal/">end congressional careers</a>. So lawmakers may want to reduce scrutiny of their behavior. And yet members of Congress have at times voted to make themselves subject to even more scrutiny. </p>
<p>In 2008, a majority of U.S. House members voted to create the Office of Congressional Ethics, whose mission is to “<a href="https://oce.house.gov/about">review allegations of misconduct against Members, Officers and staff of the House</a>.”</p>
<p>The office has reviewed and referred a variety of cases to the House for further consideration, including allegations of <a href="https://oce.house.gov/reports/investigations/oce-report-regarding-rep-duncan-d-hunter">misuse of campaign funds</a>, <a href="https://oce.house.gov/reports/investigations/oce-referral-regarding-rep-shelley-berkley">financial conflicts of interest</a> and <a href="https://oce.house.gov/reports/investigations/oce-referral-regarding-rep-thomas-garrett">use of congressional staff for personal errands</a>. </p>
<p>House leaders select the eight members of <a href="https://oce.house.gov/about/board-and-staff">the office’s board</a>. The board includes retired lawmakers <a href="https://oce.house.gov/about">but no current members of the House</a>. This differs from the <a href="https://ethics.house.gov/">House Ethics Committee</a>, which is made up of a bipartisan group of current members. As a result, the Office of Congressional Ethics has more independence from the House and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07343469.2017.1418763">has faced criticism</a> from the lawmakers it is charged with investigating. </p>
<p>At the start of the current Congress, the new Republican majority <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-us-republican-party-office-of-congressional-ethics-pandemics-60b4f098523b982b549823f4b3e8f9e4">reimposed term limits on the board</a>. That meant several veteran Democratic members of the board would have to be replaced. The new House rules Republicans adopted also created a short window for the office to hire staff.</p>
<p>Both changes, critics warned, could <a href="https://rollcall.com/2023/01/03/advocacy-groups-denounce-gop-proposals-to-gut-ethics-office/">reduce the office’s effectiveness</a>. Democrats <a href="https://rollcall.com/2023/02/07/despite-fears-agency-could-be-crippled-house-fills-ethics-posts/">moved quickly to name new board members</a>, and watchdog groups now appear <a href="https://www.commoncause.org/press-release/office-of-congressional-ethics-saved-again-but-must-be-made-permanent/">less concerned</a> about the fate of the office in this Congress. </p>
<p>Yet the most recent proposed changes to the office follow years of efforts by lawmakers to rein in the ethics watchdog they created. Members have long been skeptical of the office, and it remains vulnerable to attempts to limits its power.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509000/original/file-20230208-29-vsdmc4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a black blazer, seated at a table, gesturing while talking." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509000/original/file-20230208-29-vsdmc4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509000/original/file-20230208-29-vsdmc4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509000/original/file-20230208-29-vsdmc4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509000/original/file-20230208-29-vsdmc4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509000/original/file-20230208-29-vsdmc4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509000/original/file-20230208-29-vsdmc4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509000/original/file-20230208-29-vsdmc4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Office of Congressional Ethics investigated GOP Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona, who was later fined $175,000 in 2020 and 2022 by the Federal Election Commission and House Ethics Committee for multiple campaign finance violations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/EthicsArizonaCongressman/ff5117857fa6420a83de26182df247a9/photo?Query=Office%20of%20congressional%20ethics&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=44&currentItemNo=0">AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite</a></span>
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<h2>Scandals to reform</h2>
<p>The House <a href="https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R40760.pdf">established the Office of Congressional Ethics</a> following a series of <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna15251759">high-profile scandals</a>. A new Democratic majority took over the House in 2007 <a href="https://rollcall.com/2016/10/18/a-history-of-draining-the-swamp/">with promises to “drain the swamp” in Washington</a>, and the ethics office’s creation was part of that effort. </p>
<p>This follows a historical pattern of Congress and state legislatures <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/153244000300300103">responding to scandals with reform</a>.</p>
<p>The office’s role is to <a href="https://oce.house.gov/learn/citizen-s-guide">investigate ethics complaints it receives</a>, including from members of the public. It does not have the power to enforce ethics rules or sanction members. Its role is to conduct investigations and then refer cases to the House Ethics Committee <a href="https://oce.house.gov/about">for further investigation when warranted</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://ethics.house.gov/">House Ethics Committee</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2021.1994206">House membership more broadly</a> then decide what punishment, if any, members face for ethics rules violations. The chamber can go so far as to expel members, <a href="https://history.house.gov/Institution/Discipline/Expulsion-Censure-Reprimand/">although it rarely does</a>. </p>
<p>Lawmakers accused of misconduct typically have more to fear from the legal system or voters than from their House colleagues. When a member engages in illegal behavior, <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/columnists/story/2021-01-22/column-randy-duke-cunningham-corruption-and-lava-lamps">such as taking bribes</a>, it can result in a criminal conviction. Allegations of misconduct also tend to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12046">reduce members’ support in future elections</a>. The office’s investigation could therefore hurt members’ reelection chances, even if they do not face official congressional sanctions. </p>
<h2>Risks to reelection</h2>
<p>Despite the fact that representatives themselves voted to create the office, it has come <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/world/americas/12iht-house.4.11010755.html">under criticism from members since its inception</a>. Many lawmakers were skeptical of <a href="https://library.cqpress.com/cqmagazine/document.php?id=weeklyreport110-000002679735">giving the power to investigate ethics violations to an outside body</a> that might judge lawmakers’ behavior by a different set of criteria than members themselves. </p>
<p>House members’ concerns reflect their self-interest: Although the office lacks the power to sanction members, its existence still poses a risk for lawmakers. Information about the office’s referrals to the House Ethics Committee <a href="https://oce.house.gov/reports/investigations">eventually becomes public</a>. Ethics watchdogs say that before the office’s creation the internal House Ethics Committee’s process of investigating ethics violations <a href="https://www.commoncause.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/25-Groups-Urge-OCE-to-be-Strengthened-Codified-into-Law.pdf">was too secretive</a>. </p>
<p>Advertising alleged misconduct by members can threaten reelection prospects for those implicated, as research shows that scandals increase the chances that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912912451144">a member loses the next election</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07343469.2020.1788665">or retires</a>. </p>
<p>In the years immediately following the creation of the ethics office, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8lS7n40AAAAJ&hl=en">political scientist Scott Basinger</a> found that the number of congressional scandals <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2016.1172932">increased by 60%</a>. This does not necessarily reflect an increase in potential ethics violations but could instead be the result of an increase in scrutiny and publicity.</p>
<p>Although the number of investigations into member misbehavior increased following the creation of the office, Basinger found no increase in the number of members <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2016.1172932">sanctioned by the House for ethics violations</a>. This finding seems to affirm members’ concerns. The office may view certain member activities, such as <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/07/01/ethics-committee-investigating-itself-azerbaijan/29488979/">privately funded travel</a> or <a href="https://oce.house.gov/reports/investigations/oce-referral-regarding-rep-crowley">fundraising events</a>, with more suspicion than members themselves. </p>
<p>As a result, the office may be more likely than the Ethics Committee to suggest a member behaved improperly, raising the possibility of negative press or criticism.</p>
<p>Members’ skepticism of the ethics office turned into efforts to reduce its power, including proposals to limit <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna37475180">the public availability of its reports</a> and <a href="https://rollcall.com/2011/07/22/office-of-congressional-ethics-avoids-deep-cuts/">cut its funding</a>. </p>
<p>Perhaps the greatest threat to the office came in 2017. A new Republican majority proposed changes that would reshape the office and reduce its independence by giving the House Ethics Committee <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/us/politics/with-no-warning-house-republicans-vote-to-hobble-independent-ethics-office.html">greater oversight of its actions</a>. </p>
<p>After criticism from Democrats, the public and even President-elect Trump, congressional Republicans ultimately <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/republicans-house-ethics-backlash-233152">left the office intact</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509014/original/file-20230208-23-332kit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An official form to submit a referral to the Office of Congressional Ethics." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509014/original/file-20230208-23-332kit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509014/original/file-20230208-23-332kit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=883&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509014/original/file-20230208-23-332kit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=883&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509014/original/file-20230208-23-332kit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=883&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509014/original/file-20230208-23-332kit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1109&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509014/original/file-20230208-23-332kit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1109&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509014/original/file-20230208-23-332kit.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1109&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A screenshot of the Office of Congressional Ethics online case submission form.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://oce.house.gov/contact-us/make-a-submission">Office of Congressional Ethics</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Risk to opposing ethics office</h2>
<p>Despite member skepticism, the ethics office has endured for a few reasons. </p>
<p>Party leaders backed it. Then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was a major proponent of <a href="https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-on-house-passage-of-major-ethics-reform">the office</a> and played an active role in <a href="https://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-now/2008/03/new-ethics-office-approved-by-house-after-controversial-vote-006938">persuading Democrats to support it in 2008</a>.</p>
<p>Although Republican leaders <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/us/politics/22ethics.html">did not support the office originally</a>, they have, until now, resisted making changes to it, <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/republicans-house-ethics-backlash-233152">including during the 2017 effort to rein in the ethics office</a>. As managers of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022381613001436">party’s broader reputation</a>, party leaders are likely to be particularly sensitive to the reputational damage that may result from a party’s being perceived <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07343469.2017.1418763">as lax on ethics</a>.</p>
<p>The office has also survived because members are reluctant to publicly vote against it, since weakening ethics oversight is not likely to be popular with constituents. A 2011 vote to reduce its funding <a href="https://rollcall.com/2011/07/22/office-of-congressional-ethics-avoids-deep-cuts/">failed 102-302</a>. </p>
<p>The more serious threats to the office have come at the start of new Congresses when the House sets its rules. The office <a href="https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R40760.pdf">currently exists as part of the House rules</a>; it was not created by law. The House adopts new rules at the start of each Congress, which requires the office to be renewed every two years. </p>
<p>When the House votes on its rules at the start of a Congress, any changes to the office would be part of a larger rules package. That potentially gives members cover. They could vote for the rules package while saying they opposed specific provisions, such as the change to the ethics office. </p>
<p>Good government groups like Common Cause are pushing for Congress to make the office <a href="https://www.commoncause.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/25-Groups-Urge-OCE-to-be-Strengthened-Codified-into-Law.pdf">permanent by codifying it into law</a>. Although Congress could always repeal the law, it would mean the office is not up for renewal at the start of every Congress. It could also prove more difficult for lawmakers to change the office without a direct vote on the matter.</p>
<p>Proponents of making the office more permanent face an uphill battle: Lawmakers already wary of the ethics office would need to vote to weaken their ability to rein it in. </p>
<p>What seems more likely is that the office will continue to face an uncertain future where lawmakers weigh their desire to limit its powers against fear of a public backlash if they choose to do so.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198025/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Logan Dancey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>House lawmakers created an independent office to conduct ethics investigations. But new changes by the GOP to rules governing the office were just the latest attempt to defang it.Logan Dancey, Associate Professor of Government, Wesleyan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1889482022-08-29T12:38:36Z2022-08-29T12:38:36ZWorkhorses, not show horses: Five ways to promote effective lawmaking in Congress<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481107/original/file-20220825-22-qlt1zq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C0%2C5836%2C3894&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are ways to get things done under the U.S. Capitol dome.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/CongressBudget/2b8fa60af73b4c878ed623a6e137dead/photo?Query=US%20Congress&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=77688&currentItemNo=99">AP Photo/Patrick Semansky</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/1600/congress-public.aspx">Americans dislike Congress</a>, especially when it fails to act on pressing problems. They are then surprised by legislative accomplishments on climate change, gun control and maintaining competitiveness with China.</p>
<p>But Congress <a href="https://theconversation.com/debunking-the-myth-of-legislative-gridlock-154329">does much more on a daily basis</a> than deal – or fail to deal – with high-profile issues. </p>
<p><a href="https://thelawmakers.org/center-personnel">We have spent</a> more than a decade exploring the thousands of bills and hundreds of laws produced by members of Congress each year. We find that individual representatives and senators vary dramatically in how interested they are in lawmaking and how effectively they advance their proposals. And we see opportunities to build a better Congress.</p>
<p>We have devised and generated a “Legislative Effectiveness Score” for each member of the House and Senate for each two-year Congress for the past 50 years. <a href="https://thelawmakers.org/methodology">These scores are based on 15 metrics</a>, capturing how many bills each lawmaker sponsors, how far they progress toward law and how substantively significant they are. The scores are politically neutral, with members of both parties scoring higher upon advancing whatever policies they think are best. </p>
<p>Voters can use these scores to see how their political representatives have fared in this measure, perhaps finding them among the 23% of representatives or 19% of senators <a href="https://thelawmakers.org/find-representatives">who were highly effective</a> in the most recently completed Congress. And researchers use them to determine the factors that make lawmakers effective in Congress.</p>
<p>Based on our work, we have identified five ways that legislators, reformers and voters can help promote effective lawmaking in Congress.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481142/original/file-20220825-24-y7ndc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two men in suits and a woman in a light jacket talking." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481142/original/file-20220825-24-y7ndc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481142/original/file-20220825-24-y7ndc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481142/original/file-20220825-24-y7ndc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481142/original/file-20220825-24-y7ndc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481142/original/file-20220825-24-y7ndc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481142/original/file-20220825-24-y7ndc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481142/original/file-20220825-24-y7ndc2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lawmakers willing to work with those from the other party are the most successful at advancing their bills through Congress. GOP Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, left, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia talk during a joint session of Congress.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sen-mitt-romney-sen-lisa-murkowski-and-sen-joe-manchin-talk-news-photo/1375573546?adppopup=true">Win McNamee/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. Lawmakers can focus their legislative agendas on their interests, committee assignments and constituency needs</h2>
<p>Members of Congress face many demands on their time. They are almost always campaigning or raising money for the next election. Their time on Capitol Hill is punctuated with committee meetings and calls to votes on the House or Senate floor. </p>
<p>Such pressures leave little time to formulate new policies, build coalitions and advance their proposals. Effective lawmakers do not have more time than others – they simply align these various activities toward a common goal of lawmaking.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/01/06/the-5-habits-of-highly-effective-legislators/">Effective lawmakers</a> introduce bills that combine their own interests and passions with the needs of their constituencies and their committee assignments. </p>
<p>Thus, time spent away from Washington, in their home states and districts, is focused on identifying the policy needs of their constituents and highlighting their policy successes; time in committee is spent making and refining their policy proposals; time milling around between votes is used to build coalitions. </p>
<p>For the effective lawmaker, all these different activities form a coherent whole.</p>
<h2>2. Legislators can view lawmaking as a team sport</h2>
<p>No member of Congress can accomplish anything by himself or herself. Effective lawmakers recognize this and build a successful team. </p>
<p>Our analysis found that effective lawmakers avoid the pitfall of hiring loyal campaign staffers to handle the legislative work of their offices. <a href="https://thelawmakers.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/New-Member-of-Congress-Guide-Being-an-Effective-Lawmaker-Web-Version.pdf">Starting on Day One</a>, they hire – and subsequently retain – legislative <a href="https://thelawmakers.org/legislative-research/experienced-legislative-staff-crucial-to-making-a-difference-on-the-hill">staff who have extensive experience on Capitol Hill</a>.</p>
<p>They then join with like-minded colleagues to take advantage of the <a href="https://thelawmakers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Working-Paper-CEL-Legislative-Effectiveness-of-Party-Faction-Members-in-Congress.pdf">added resources provided by legislative caucuses</a>, such as additional staff support and independent policy analyses, apart from the help provided by party leadership. </p>
<p>Moreover, for effective lawmakers, their team is not limited to their political party. Those willing to co-sponsor bills written by members of the other party find more bipartisan support for their own efforts. Our analysis demonstrates that such bipartisan lawmakers are the most successful at <a href="https://thelawmakers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Working-Paper-Bipartisan-Lawmakers-and-Effectiveness.pdf">advancing their bills through Congress</a>. </p>
<h2>3. Lawmakers can specialize and develop policy expertise</h2>
<p>Members of Congress need to be generalists to vote knowledgeably on diverse policy topics on any given day. Many take that generalist view to their lawmaking portfolio, sponsoring legislation in each of the <a href="https://thelawmakers.org/legislative-effectiveness-scores/health-policy-legislative-effectiveness-scores-highlights-from-the-116th-congress">21 major issue areas addressed by Congress</a>. </p>
<p>But we find that the most effective lawmakers dedicate about half of their time, attention and legislative proposals <a href="https://thelawmakers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Working-Paper-CEL-Foxes-or-Hedgehogs-Specialization-in-Congress.pdf">to a single issue area</a>. By becoming an acknowledged experts in issues of health or education or international affairs, for example, lawmakers become central to policy formulation in their area of interest. </p>
<h2>4. Reforms can reinforce good lawmaking habits</h2>
<p>Individual lawmakers in Congress could adopt any of the practices above to become more effective. But institutional reforms could help reinforce such good behaviors. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://modernizecongress.house.gov/">Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress</a> has put forward <a href="https://modernizecongress.house.gov/116th-recommendations">dozens of reform proposals in the House of Representatives</a> over the past three years. Based on our extensive research, we believe the proposals that would attract and retain experienced staff, promote bipartisanship or encourage the development of expertise through committee-centered lawmaking can <a href="https://thelawmakers.org/legislative-research/on-the-select-committee-on-the-modernization-of-congress-recommendation">increase the lawmaking effectiveness of Congress as a whole</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481111/original/file-20220825-24-6hzzwh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The hands of several people holding ballots and counting them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481111/original/file-20220825-24-6hzzwh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481111/original/file-20220825-24-6hzzwh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481111/original/file-20220825-24-6hzzwh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481111/original/file-20220825-24-6hzzwh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481111/original/file-20220825-24-6hzzwh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481111/original/file-20220825-24-6hzzwh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481111/original/file-20220825-24-6hzzwh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Election workers in Pittsburgh recount ballots on June 1, 2022, from the recent Pennsylvania primary election.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SupremeCourtElections/da7f5b124d8d46468fde2a074030c5dc/photo?Query=US%20Congress&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=77688&currentItemNo=1299">AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. Voters can reward effective lawmaking</h2>
<p>Without electoral rewards for effective lawmaking, members of Congress may focus on being show horses rather than legislative workhorses. </p>
<p>The role of voters starts with the initial selection of candidates. Voters might consider whether candidates demonstrate policy expertise and speak about the benefits of bipartisanship, for example. They might consider our analysis showing that <a href="https://thelawmakers.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Effective-State-Legislator-to-Effective-Congressional-Representative-Working-Paper-1-2020.pdf">effective state legislators</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ajps.12010">women tend to be more effective lawmakers</a> in Congress, on average. </p>
<p>Among incumbents, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/political-science-research-and-methods/article/do-constituents-know-or-care-about-the-lawmaking-effectiveness-of-their-representatives/27D2131C423FED666198B9A008F9D676">voters do strongly prefer effective over ineffective lawmakers</a> at reelection time. However, when voters lack <a href="https://thelawmakers.org/find-representatives">credible information about how effective their representative is</a>, it is much easier to vote simply based on partisanship or other considerations. </p>
<p>On the whole, Congress can function much better. Effective lawmakers from the past have shown the path forward. Our analysis of 50 years of data offers lessons that any representative or senator can adopt, as well as reforms and electoral pressures that can nudge them in the right direction.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188948/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Volden co-directs the Center for Effective Lawmaking, which receives funding from the Democracy Fund and from the U.S. Democracy Program at the Hewlett Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Wiseman is the Chair of the Department of Political Science at Vanderbilt University and he co-directs the Center for Effective Lawmaking, which receives funding from the Democracy Fund and from the U.S. Democracy Program at the Hewlett Foundation. </span></em></p>What makes an effective lawmaker? Two scholars have studied 50 years of congressional legislating, and they’ve got a scorecard and a plan.Craig Volden, Professor of Public Policy and Politics, University of VirginiaAlan E. Wiseman, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Political Economy, Professor of Political Science and Law, Vanderbilt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1513192021-01-14T14:30:05Z2021-01-14T14:30:05ZNigeria’s State Houses of Assembly need a greater online presence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378270/original/file-20210112-23-1j6rho0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">State assemblies in Nigeria must devote more resources to digital communication </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/policemen-keeps-watch-at-the-bayelsa-house-of-assembly-in-news-photo/56290017">Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nigerians are now more active online than ever. Data from the <a href="https://www.ncc.gov.ng/statistics-reports/industry-overview#view-graphs-tables-5">National Communications Commission</a> and <a href="https://www.internetworldstats.com/africa.htm#ng">independent bodies</a> suggest that the majority of citizens use the internet, social media and smartphones for everyday activity. </p>
<p>Many of these people engage in political conversations. This is why government institutions should use online platforms to engage with the public. The legislature, as the voice of the people, is expected to connect with the people – and <a href="https://content.iospress.com/articles/information-polity/ip000316">online technologies</a> make this easier, cheaper and faster. </p>
<p>But do assemblies maintain an active online presence, in line with governance trends in the information era? We took on this important question in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13572334.2020.1818928">our research</a> by focusing on the 36 subnational legislatures in Nigeria. These are called State Houses of Assembly. </p>
<p>These assemblies should be closer to the people, but <a href="http://afrobarometer.org/online-data-analysis/analyse-online">data</a> show that they are disconnected and the public doesn’t fully trust them. This is all the more reason they should be using digital platforms to inform and listen to citizens. </p>
<p>We analysed the parliamentary websites as well as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts of the assemblies from June 2019 to March 2020. We also interacted with relevant officials and used <a href="https://nigerianstat.gov.ng/elibrary">data</a> from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, capturing revenue, internet penetration and literacy rates.</p>
<h2>Assemblies and online presence</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reports/2018-11/world-e-parliament-report-2018">Evidence</a> from the Inter-Parliamentary Union,
an international organisation of parliaments, shows that national legislatures increasingly use websites, social media and related digital tools to perform their functions. They also share information and communicate with the public. </p>
<p>We found this didn’t happen in Nigeria.</p>
<p>At least half of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies had websites and Twitter accounts. Over three quarters had Facebook accounts, but only a handful had Instagram and YouTube accounts. </p>
<p>Online presence was skewed towards geopolitical zones with an economic advantage. South-west and South-south (six states apiece) had four assemblies with websites. Three states each in the North-east and North-central (of six states each) had websites. The South-east (five states) and North-west zones (seven states) had only two each with websites. </p>
<p>Lagos State Assembly appeared to be the only one with a relatively active presence on both <a href="https://www.lagoshouseofassembly.gov.ng">website</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/lshaofficial">social media</a>. This underscores the state’s elite status in terms of resources, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20421338.2020.1748335">proportion of internet users and literacy rates</a>. </p>
<p>Another factor that influenced online presence was the relationship between legislative bureaucrats and political aides. The presence was much better if the parliamentary leadership, as represented by presiding speakers, made it a priority. </p>
<p>As staff of information technology departments, bureaucrats have a duty to operate the institutional online accounts. But political aides, as appointees of elected members, especially presiding speakers, handle the individual accounts of their principals. Where they didn’t work together, lapses in the online presence of the legislature were evident. </p>
<p>Similarly, in two instances, respondents confirmed that they had lost their websites because the presiding speakers were not convinced of the need to sustain them. </p>
<p>We also observed that the websites projected the image of leaders and individual members more than the institution. The websites carried biographical descriptions of legislators. But they had nothing about members’ salaries and allowances and procedure for their recall.</p>
<p>There were significant shortcomings in the use of social media platforms for engagement. For instance, we tested for three levels of use: (i) to inform the public about the legislative institution, (ii) to inform about its activities and (iii) to promote conversations and relationships with the people. Only about 10% used Twitter for the third – the most important dimension of engagement. Facebook and Instagram were used mostly at the first levels, and, in few cases, the second. Whereas having Facebook accounts was very prominent, only about one-third of the assemblies frequently updated the accounts and activated tools that allow interaction with the public. </p>
<p>What is clear is that despite the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461355718763448">increasing popularity</a> of social media among citizens, assemblies don’t offer what citizens need: political information and the opportunity for two-way communication. </p>
<p>Similar to the ways in which they mostly use their websites, social media platforms are mostly used to disseminate information, rather than to promote two-way communication with the public. This detracts from the benefits that social media, especially, can bring to connections between public institutions and citizens. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>The assemblies must realise that the online space is the new campaign ground for public support. Whether they practise digital engagement or not, the public will continue to shape opinions about them, rightly or wrongly. It is only fair, then, that the assemblies add their voices to these online conversations. </p>
<p>They can do this by devoting more resources to digital communication and promoting overarching public engagement strategies. </p>
<p>There must also be regular training for digital managers of the legislative institutions and greater political will by the leadership. This will promote ongoing dialogue with Nigerians. </p>
<p>It may also help in reversing the level of public distrust of legislative institutions in Nigeria.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151319/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Temitayo Isaac Odeyemi receives funding for doctoral studies from Nigeria's Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) through the Obafemi Awolowo University. He is also affiliated with the University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom, where is a doctoral researcher. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Omomayowa Olawale Abati receives funding from the National Research Foundation of the Republic of South Africa through Stellenbosch University where he undertake his doctoral research. He is also affiliated to Kings University, Odeomu, Nigeria where he teaches Political Science. </span></em></p>While internet penetration is increasing in Nigeria, State Houses of Assembly have little or no online presence, this ought to change.Temitayo Isaac Odeyemi, Lecturer, Obafemi Awolowo UniversityOmomayowa Olawale Abati, Lecturer, Kings UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1467812020-10-05T15:07:32Z2020-10-05T15:07:32ZWhy members of parliament in Ghana can get away with ignoring voters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359975/original/file-20200925-14-sr0q2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ghana has invested heavily in its parliamentary democracy</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Delali-Adogla Bessa/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Ghana turned to democracy in 1992 after many years of military rule, there were expectations that the people would choose their leaders. Ghanaians also expected to see a closer relationship between citizens and the state, making members of the legislature more sensitive to their needs. </p>
<p>Democracy has generally <a href="https://css.ethz.ch/en/services/digital-library/publications/publication.html/154807">flourished</a> in Ghana. Freedom House’s <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/Feb2019_FH_FITW_2019_Report_ForWeb-compressed.pdf">rankings</a> have consistently marked Ghana as “free” since 2000.</p>
<p>But the country has yet to entrench some key aspects of democratic governance. One example is the disconnect between the people and their representatives in parliament. Public <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/">opinion surveys</a> conducted by Afrobarometer show a wide gap between the two. For instance, between 2002 and 2013, an average of 85.8% of Ghanaians had no contact with their representatives in parliament.</p>
<p>Ghanaian voters indicate that their legislators spend little time in the constituency. Even when they do, they tend not to listen to the concerns of voters. This gap is a problem because modern democracy relies on representative institutions. The very foundations of democracy could be shaken if citizens do not feel adequately represented.</p>
<p>I set out to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13572334.2020.1814514">investigate</a> this disconnect. Other <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322245711_ASSESSING_THE_QUALITY_OF_PARLIAMENTARY_REPRESENTATION_IN_GHANA">studies</a> exist, but none has examined the role of patronage networks mediating legislators’ pathway to power in Ghana.</p>
<p>I found that a major contributing factor to the gap between legislators and their constituents in Ghana is the strong presence of patronage networks in primaries within the parties. The way the two main political parties, the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress, select parliamentary candidates for general elections makes it possible for patronage networks to hijack electoral processes.</p>
<h2>Internal party competition</h2>
<p>Parliamentarians in Ghana, as everywhere else, do not emerge out of the blue. Political parties have established procedures for selecting candidates. Internal party primaries have been the main avenue for selecting parliamentary aspirants since the early 2000s. </p>
<p>But the very nature of these internal competitions creates a cohort of legislators who can easily circumvent voters’ “punishment” if they don’t perform. </p>
<p>To become an MP in Ghana on the main parties’ tickets, aspirants must apply to designated constituency committees and be vetted by the regional and national party. Where more than one aspirant passes this stage, they are presented to the party’s delegates at a conference for a deciding vote. The small number of delegates who vote in these internal contests is a recipe for patronage. It’s easy for aspiring candidates to buy the support and loyalty of these delegates.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/politics/NPP-polls-Aspirant-shares-cars-on-election-day-at-Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam-784431">recent cases</a>, some aspirants have gone as far as buying cars to woo the delegates. Internal party primaries in Ghana are usually <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/authoritarian-origins-of-democratic-party-systems-in-africa/73C14DB2977550A337A424E8F7EEA67A">devoid of programmatic appeals</a>. A candidate who campaigns solely on programmes and doesn’t issue any material benefits will most likely lose. A candidate whose campaign relies solely on handing out material goods is likely to win even if his or her campaign contains zero programmes. </p>
<p>Therefore, the ability to award personal favours like pocket money, school fees, funeral donations, television sets and so on to party delegates becomes the exclusive focus of these party competitions. The road to parliament in Ghana gets smoother for the highest bidder than for the candidate with the most elaborate policies.</p>
<p>This places the power to determine the future of an MP in the hands of party delegates, not the electorate. After all, winning the primaries means a free ticket to parliament in many constituencies.</p>
<p>This is more so because more than <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123412000014">60% of the 275 seats</a> in parliament are safe for either the New Patriotic Party or the National Democratic Congress. The huge number of constituencies that are dominated by either of these two parties give MPs the incentive to concentrate more on local party delegates than the entire constituency voters. The voice of constituency voters, therefore, gets trumped by that of the party delegates.</p>
<h2>What is the way forward?</h2>
<p>To make constituency votes matter, the focus should be on reviewing internal party contests which determine who stands as an MP.</p>
<p>In emerging democracies, there are hardly any national laws regulating how parties select their candidates. In Ghana, the constitution says political parties must ensure that their internal processes conform to democratic standards. But there’s no legislation spelling out how they should choose their candidates.</p>
<p>Ghana could follow the examples of Germany, the United States, New Zealand and Finland in regulating internal party competitions. The focus should be on the inclusivity of mechanisms to select candidates within parties. For example, all party members or even the entire constituency of voters can participate in the selection of candidate MPs.</p>
<p>An open candidate selection process would provide less incentive to reward a few party delegates and neglect the constituency. With more participants, candidate MPs wouldn’t have enough money to buy everybody. This would force candidate MPs to campaign on the basis of policies that benefit the entire constituency. Also, to be reelected, MPs would have to build a good relationship with their constituencies, not with internal party oligarchies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Acheampong does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An open candidate selection process would provide less incentive for the issuance of material benefits to only a few delegates while the constituency is neglected.Martin Acheampong, Doctoral Fellow, Bamberg Graduate School of Social Sciences, University of BambergLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1239062019-10-03T11:32:25Z2019-10-03T11:32:25ZThis year at the Supreme Court: Gay rights, gun rights and Native rights<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295106/original/file-20191001-173369-1312ex7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Supreme Court begins its newest session on the first Monday in October.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Supreme-Court-Excluding-Black-Jurors/41ba41a9ea8c495abb7e66f16ec322db/27/0">AP/J. Scott Applewhite</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Supreme Court begins its annual session on Oct. 7 and will take up a series of cases likely to have political reverberations in the 2020 elections.</p>
<p>Major cases this year address the immigration program for young people (“Dreamers”) known as <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2019/09/symposium-the-daca-cases-may-be-the-next-big-test-for-the-roberts-court/">DACA</a>, the <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/moda-health-plan-inc-v-united-states/">Affordable Care Act</a> (again), and <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/espinoza-v-montana-department-of-revenue/">public money for religious schools</a>. </p>
<p>Justices will also consider cases that involve several aspects of <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2019/09/overview-of-the-courts-criminal-docket-for-ot-19-sizeable-and-significant/">defendants’ rights</a>: whether criminal convictions require a <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/ramos-v-louisiana/">unanimous jury</a>, <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/mathena-v-malvo/">minors can be given a life sentence</a> and <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/kahler-v-kansas/">a state can abolish</a> the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inconvenient-facts/201909/the-insanity-defense-the-supreme-court">insanity defense</a>.</p>
<p>Some of the most important rulings will address the recognition of rights by the conservative court: gay rights, gun rights and Native rights.</p>
<p>These cases focus on perhaps the deepest divide on the court: Should the justices base their rulings on the contemporary meaning of words in our laws (or in the Constitution itself) as the public understanding of those concepts changes over time? </p>
<p>Or should they insist that our laws can only be changed from their original meaning by the country’s democratic representatives, who are directly accountable to the people?</p>
<h2>Gay rights</h2>
<p>The justices will consider three cases on LGBT employment rights.</p>
<p>Gerald Bostock <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/bostock-v-clayton-county-georgia/">was fired</a> by Clayton County, Georgia, because he is gay. Donald Zarda was <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/altitude-express-inc-v-zarda/">fired from his job</a> as a tandem sky-dive instructor for being gay (before his <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/donald-zarda-man-center-major-gay-rights-case-never-got-n852846">death in a BASE-jumping accident</a>). Aimee Stephens transitioned from male to female identity and <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/r-g-g-r-harris-funeral-homes-inc-v-equal-opportunity-employment-commission/">was fired</a> from her job as a funeral director.</p>
<p>These cases turn on one word’s meaning: the word “sex” in <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm">Title VII</a> of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. </p>
<p>Does “sex” mean what legislators thought it meant when the law was passed, barring discrimination against women? Or should it be interpreted more broadly now to mean discrimination against any aspect of sexuality? </p>
<h2>Gun rights</h2>
<p>It has been almost a decade since the court recognized a fundamental right for individual citizens to bear arms. That case was <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/mcdonald-v-city-of-chicago/">MacDonald v. Chicago</a>, from the city with the <a href="https://www.thetrace.org/2017/01/chicago-murder-rate-fatal-shootings/">highest total number of gun deaths in the nation</a>. </p>
<p>Since that time, the looming question has been what sort of restrictions would be considered constitutional.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/new-york-state-rifle-pistol-association-inc-v-city-of-new-york-new-york/">New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. New York City</a> puts this question to the test. Licensed gun owners were prevented from transporting firearms outside of their homes, even to a second home or to a shooting competition outside the city. The court must decide if this is a reasonable regulation that leaves the essential right to bear arms intact.</p>
<p>In the midst of growing concern over mass shootings, the ruling may have ramifications for future attempts at gun regulations.</p>
<p>To raise the political stakes even further, five U.S. senators in their now infamous “<a href="https://theconversation.com/democrats-turn-a-venerable-legal-tool-into-a-declaration-of-war-122175">enemy-of-the-Court</a>” brief threaten that if the court does not dismiss the case, the Senate will have to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/warning-or-threat-democrats-ignite-controversy-with-supreme-court-brief-in-gun-case/2019/08/16/2ec96ef0-c039-11e9-9b73-fd3c65ef8f9c_story.html">consider adding more justices to the court in an attempt to shift its partisan balance, known as “packing the Court.”</a></p>
<h2>Native rights</h2>
<p>The least-known but potentially most important case of the year is not about widely-discussed gay rights or gun rights, but about Native rights. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/sharp-v-murphy/">Sharp v. Murphy</a> began as a dispute over jurisdiction in a murder prosecution. But it has become a potentially influential case about who represents the rightful government of Eastern Oklahoma.</p>
<p>The historic reservations of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole Nations comprise <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/147472/grisly-murder-case-turn-half-oklahoma-back-tribal-lands">40% of Oklahoma land</a>. These tribes were forcibly removed from the eastern U.S. to the Oklahoma Territory in the 1830s, some making the journey along the infamous <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/trail-of-tears">Trail of Tears</a>.</p>
<p>Since then, parts of their reservation land have been seized by the state government or <a href="https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=AL011">sold to private citizens</a>, so they are no longer part of the reservation. This includes the city of Tulsa.</p>
<p>The argument in the case is that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/11/28/half-land-oklahoma-could-be-returned-native-americans-it-should-be/">according to the original treaties</a> the petitioners are asking the court to uphold, <a href="https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/">those lands</a> are rightfully still under the <a href="https://upfront.scholastic.com/issues/2018-19/012819/who-owns-oklahoma.html#1280L">government of the tribes</a>. What exactly this means in terms of ownership and governance is unclear.</p>
<p>This may at first appear to be a small case about a piece of the American West. But if the Native rights claim is recognized by the court, it may also apply in later cases to a surprisingly large proportion of the United States that was once “<a href="http://tribaljurisdiction.tripod.com/id7.html">Indian country</a>” under official treaties. That is why <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/17/17-1107/55899/20180730151022618_2018.07.30%20-%20Carpenter%20-%20States%20Amicus%20Brief%20FINAL.pdf">10 states filed a friend-of-the-court brief</a> arguing against the Native rights claim.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295130/original/file-20191001-173393-1qj8jza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295130/original/file-20191001-173393-1qj8jza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295130/original/file-20191001-173393-1qj8jza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295130/original/file-20191001-173393-1qj8jza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295130/original/file-20191001-173393-1qj8jza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295130/original/file-20191001-173393-1qj8jza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295130/original/file-20191001-173393-1qj8jza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295130/original/file-20191001-173393-1qj8jza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A map submitted as an exhibit in the Supreme Court case about the boundaries of tribal reservations in Oklahoma.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/17/17-1107/55211/20180723232609947_17-1107%20J.A.%20Volume%202.pdf">Supreme Court</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Bigger implications</h2>
<p>The Native rights claims at issue are not individual rights of the type the U.S. Constitution generally contemplates. They are rights held by an ethnic group. The question of who belongs to the group – and hence <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/02/09/583987261/so-what-exactly-is-blood-quantum">has access to the group right</a> – is a divisive one because any answer includes some members while excluding others who claim the same identity. </p>
<p>It also is reminiscent of another proposed group right that is being debated in American politics: reparations. This summer the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/us/politics/slavery-reparations-hearing.html">U.S. Congress held contentious hearings</a> to discuss possible payments as reparations for slavery.</p>
<p>But payments to whom? Both Native Americans and African Americans share a distinct problem yet to be solved: how to determine who is a member of the group.</p>
<p>So in the case of reparations: Would they be paid only to direct descendants of slaves? To all African American descendants no matter when their progenitors arrived in the U.S.? To all people who have any black ancestors regardless of their current status or wealth? </p>
<p>Many Native tribes use what’s called the “<a href="https://www.pascuayaqui-nsn.gov/index.php/blood-quantum-calculator">blood quantum</a>” <a href="https://www.bia.gov/bia/ois/tgs/genealogy">approach</a>, which forces individuals to document their lineage and proportional ancestry to prove membership. But <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/which-americans-should-get-reparations/2019/09/18/271cf744-cab1-11e9-a4f3-c081a126de70_story.html">scholars in this area</a> argue that this approach is fraught with complications in many contexts. </p>
<h2>Election 2020</h2>
<p>Democratic presidential hopefuls have already grappled with questions around tribal membership and the country’s history of racism. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/elizabeth-warren-apologizes-for-calling-herself-native-american/2019/02/05/1627df76-2962-11e9-984d-9b8fba003e81_story.html">Sen. Elizabeth Warren</a> has dealt with a damaging controversy over her claims to Native American ancestry. Former <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bidens-tough-talk-on-1970s-school-desegregation-plan-could-get-new-scrutiny-in-todays-democratic-party/2019/03/07/9115583e-3eb2-11e9-a0d3-1210e58a94cf_story.html">Vice President Joe Biden</a> has come under fire for his earlier opposition to reparations.</p>
<p>In terms of both legal and political influence, Sharp v. Murphy is a case with potentially major ramifications. And with the combined focus on politically divisive issues like gay rights, gun rights and Native rights, this year’s docket is likely to have an unusually strong presence in the 2020 campaigns.</p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123906/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Morgan Marietta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The upcoming Supreme Court session will address notable cases about the rights of different groups. The cases go to the heart of how U.S. laws protect both individual and group rights.Morgan Marietta, Associate Professor of Political Science, UMass LowellLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1197992019-09-17T12:49:50Z2019-09-17T12:49:50ZExpanding direct democracy won’t make Americans feel better about politics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291863/original/file-20190910-190007-1bovpnz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nurses in November 2016 expressed support for a ballot proposition to limit what California state agencies pay for prescription drugs.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Drug-Prices-Ballot-Initiative/f5a1f66a30c04a908e8f814542b85cc1/247/0">AP/Nick Ut, file</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Americans watch the Brexit-related <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-backstop-nireland-explaine/explainer-focus-back-on-northern-ireland-only-backstop-as-johnsons-options-narrow-idUKKCN1VV17C">political turmoil in the United Kingdom</a>, it is important to remember that the chaos there began in a form of direct democracy. When U.K. voters set in motion their exit from the European Union, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887">they did so by voting directly on the so-called “Brexit” initiative</a>.</p>
<p>Normally, such major policy would have been initiated, deliberated and voted on by their elected officials in Parliament.</p>
<p>The Brexit mess is an example of the disruptive potential of direct democracy, a practice that Americans <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/163433/americans-favor-national-referenda-key-issues.aspx">have long believed</a> leads to a healthier democratic society. </p>
<p>Recent polls show Americans are increasingly dissatisfied with their system of representative democracy. <a href="https://www.vox.com/mischiefs-of-faction/2018/10/31/18042060/poll-dissatisfaction-american-democracy-young">Many</a> see sharp and unhealthy partisan divisions and lack confidence that the system will produce the results they desire. </p>
<p>Against this backdrop, some advocate for greater use of direct democracy. This includes <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/States_with_initiative_or_referendum">ballot initiatives, such as those practiced in 24 states</a>, including California, Massachusetts and Michigan. </p>
<p><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_initiative">Ballot initiatives</a> bypass the normal legislative process. They can be written by anyone and receive a public vote without input from lawmakers, provided enough petition signatures are obtained to get the initiative on the ballot. </p>
<p>Well-known initiatives have dealt with issues like <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Maine_Same-Sex_Marriage_Question,_Question_1_(2012)">same-sex marriage</a>, <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_24,_Repeal_of_Corporate_Tax_Breaks_(2010)">tax reform</a> and <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_Marijuana_Legalization,_Ballot_Measure_2_(2014)">marijuana legalization</a>. Advocates say <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwRHJn3rQP0">greater use of such measures</a> could help address citizen disengagement from – and cynicism about – politics.
Based on 15 years of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-014-9273-5">our</a> <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1532673X08330635">own</a> <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-008-9081-x">research</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.9993024">we believe that the commonly held view of the initiative process – that it’s good for democracy – is wrong</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291864/original/file-20190910-190050-1a7qakx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291864/original/file-20190910-190050-1a7qakx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291864/original/file-20190910-190050-1a7qakx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291864/original/file-20190910-190050-1a7qakx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291864/original/file-20190910-190050-1a7qakx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291864/original/file-20190910-190050-1a7qakx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291864/original/file-20190910-190050-1a7qakx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Direct democracy, say the authors, produces greater political conflict and polarization, such as this demonstration in London on Sept. 4 of Brexit supporters and detractors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Britain-Brexit/f65578fc29c840b880b629c1eee245cc/11/0">AP/Alastair Grant</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Progressives’ unfulfilled hope</h2>
<p>Claims promoting the positive benefits of direct democracy on voter turnout and engagement have appeared periodically since the wave of <a href="http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/progress/">Progressive Era reforms during the early 20th century</a>. Those reforms led to the establishment of the <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/History_of_initiative_and_referendum_in_the_U.S.">state ballot initiative process</a>.</p>
<p>Americans practice a form of <a href="https://www.historyonthenet.com/what-is-a-representative-democracy">representative democracy</a> by choosing among candidates for office. <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/siecles/1109?lang=en">Advocates for direct democracy</a> maintain that by voting directly on policy proposals, people become more knowledgeable about government, confident of their own abilities and positive about the capabilities of others. </p>
<p>As political theorist <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520242333/strong-democracy">Ben Barber asserted</a>, the “initiative and referendum can increase popular participation in and responsibility for government, provide a permanent instrument of civic education, and give popular talk the reality and discipline that it needs to be effective.” </p>
<p>Beginning about two decades ago, some <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-political-science/article/democracy-institutions-and-attitudes-about-citizen-influence-on-government/F6DFDF0A30CE0D9E7A38EA0465D31FBB">political scientists</a> <a href="https://www.press.umich.edu/11463/educated_by_initiative">claimed to find support</a> for the idea that greater use of direct democracy tools, especially the state ballot initiative, helps people get more interested in and engaged with politics and spurs more trust in government. </p>
<p>Direct democracy has been popular with both political parties, and liberals as well as conservatives. </p>
<p>Modern-day progressives often claim the ballot initiative can fix problems like gerrymandering, campaign finance abuses or growing income inequality. The Ballot Initiative Strategy Center <a href="https://ballot.org/why-were-here/">states that</a> “[W]e envision a future in which progressives have harnessed the power of ballot measures as proactive tools for success – to increase civic engagement, enact forward-looking policies, and strengthen progressive infrastructure in key states.”</p>
<p>Yet not so long ago, <a href="https://ballot.org/why-were-here/">conventional wisdom held</a> that ballot initiatives and referendums were the <a href="https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/F/bo3615566.html">tools of conservatives</a>, at least in the last 40 years. </p>
<p><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_13,_Tax_Limitations_Initiative_(1978)">In 1978, California passed Proposition 13</a>, sparking tax-cutting measures across the country. <a href="https://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=592919&p=4182201">Before the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal</a>, states with ballot initiatives and voter-approved constitutional amendments passed laws defining marriage as between a man in a woman in more than 30 statewide votes between 1998 and 2011. </p>
<h2>Conflict and polarization</h2>
<p>Drawing on a wide variety of data, we conclude in our book <a href="https://www.press.umich.edu/9993024/initiatives_without_engagement">“Initiatives without Engagement”</a> that the initiative process mainly encourages greater conflict rather than produces political and social benefits. </p>
<p>Ballot initiatives can increase voter turnout, which seems like positive news. But they do so through <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2010.00688.x">mobilization of occasional voters</a> and encourage voting commonly based on fear <a href="https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.9993024">without making people more generally knowledgeable or engaged</a>. </p>
<p>Initiatives can also be a tool for ideological extremists and opportunists. They use the process to circumvent the American legislative process, long noted for its incrementalism and premium on compromise. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.9993024">Our research</a> finds that the relationship between party identification and polarized issue attitudes – where Democrats increasingly take the more liberal position and Republicans take the more conservative position – is about 25%-45% bigger in states that frequently use the initiative than in noninitiative states. </p>
<h2>Tyranny of the majority</h2>
<p>Our research also confirms that initiatives often inflame occasional majority group voters. They do this with measures targeting the rights of minority group members. </p>
<p>This has been the case with attempts to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2006.00175.x">limit the rights of immigrants, curb affirmative action</a> and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/poq/article-abstract/72/3/399/1836972">define marriage as between a man and a woman</a>.</p>
<p>Examining all post-World War II ballot measures in California, we found numerous examples of votes that sought to curtail the rights of minority groups, including the LGBT community, racial/ethnic minorities and immigrants. Only <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_11,_Fair_Employment_Practices_Act_(1946)">one initiative was aimed at expanding them</a>. </p>
<p>The 1946 ballot initiative, Proposition 11, was called the “Fair Employment Practices Act” and <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_1946_ballot_propositions">would have barred employers from discriminating</a> on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin or ancestry. It received only 28% yes votes to 72% no. </p>
<p>This is exactly the “majority tyranny” that worried the American founders. <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed10.asp">James Madison famously argued</a> that pure democracies were incompatible with “personal security” and “property rights.” Given the opportunity, he believed, the masses might vote away the rights and wealth of the elite. His ultimate point, that majorities can be myopic, has proven prescient. </p>
<h2>Distrust in government</h2>
<p>In the wake of all this conflict <a href="https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.9993024">our research</a> shows that frequent use of ballot initiatives makes citizens trust government less, not more. This is because initiative campaigns often stress that government is broken. Voters then conclude that we would have fewer direct democracy campaigns if government was more competent. </p>
<p>Many people have a visceral attachment to the idea that “the cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy.” Presidential candidate and Democratic donor Tom Steyer and others <a href="https://calmatters.org/blogs/california-election-2020/2019/07/tom-steyer-presidential-bid-california-ideas-for-country-politics-direct-democracy/">advocate for expansion of direct democracy to the national level</a>. </p>
<p>By contrast, some scholars express concern that extending direct democracy to the national level would result in a lack of effective deliberation <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/vanlr56&div=17&g_sent=1&casa_token=sTW3qRG9S4cAAAAA:5guUerCiGxZQGghrOoJj4LXD7rBcAgqqC6hhojjZYxZMp1r9mNaev43qUj-URtiTSfQRNW309Q&collection=journals">if critical policy issues were decided by popular vote</a>. And because direct democracy addresses issues one at a time rather than in relation to one another, it can <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/hlr112&div=20&g_sent=1&casa_token=70_gQ1kcthIAAAAA:D0vBOia73vGdM5RKTkAYbi29IWa5234af2b7m9a6l8wYqZhrMIg4X2Sq95fALikT9rx9N4CoYw&collection=journals">hamper the ability to set priorities</a>. This is especially true of measures that affect state budgets. </p>
<p>Our research goes further, raising concerns about the consequences of extending direct democracy for citizens’ engagement with their government. We think the likely effects of taking something like the state initiative process to the national level would be to deepen distrust between citizens and government as it has in the states. That in turn would give parties and presidents another tool to strengthen polarization. </p>
<p>The consequences of a national referendum process in the U.S. could resemble what has transpired in the U.K. more than the anodyne promises of would-be reformers. </p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Citizens voting directly on policy seems like a good idea. But that led to the Brexit mess in the UK. In the US, two scholars say direct democracy deepens distrust of politics and government.Joshua J. Dyck, Associate Professor of Political Science; Director of the Center for Public Opinion, UMass LowellEdward L. Lascher Jr., Professor and Chair, Department of Public Policy and Administration, California State University, SacramentoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.