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66 U. Colo. L. Rev. 13 (1994-1995)
Let the Voters Decide - An Assessment of the Initiative and Referendum Process

handle is hein.journals/ucollr66 and id is 23 raw text is: LET THE VOTERS DECIDE? AN ASSESSMENT OF THE INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM PROCESS DAVID B. MAGLEBY* The initiative and popular referendum permit citizens to set the political agenda by placing statutes and constitutional amendments on the ballot, and by vetoing actions taken by legislative bodies at the state and local levels. Using the initiative, voters may write statutes, and in some states constitutional amendments, which will go to the ballot if sufficient valid petition signatures are gathered. Initiative sponsors in states that provide both the constitutional and statutory initiative will often submit their measure as a constitutional initiative because of its more secure legal standing,' a trend that is growing in at least one state.2 Constitutional initiatives can typically be changed only by a subsequent vote of the people, although statutory initiatives in most states may be amended by the legislature.' Initiatives that meet the signature requirement go either directly to the voters (the direct initiative) or are placed on the state legisla- ture's agenda (the indirect initiative), where, if the legislature does not enact the initiative within a specified time, the proponents have the option to gather additional signatures and place the measure on the ballot. Five states permit both the * Professor of Political Science and Department Chair, Brigham Young University. Research funding for this article was provided by the College of Family, Home and Social Sciences research committee. Research assistance was provided by David Barlow, Scott Baxter, Steven Davis, Ariane Holtkamp, and Quin Monson. Don Norton read and provided helpful comments. In the article I rely heavily on research I have published or presented elsewhere, which is cited throughout the article. 1. DAVID B. MAGLEBY, DIRECT LEGISLATION: VOTING ON BALLOT PROPOSI- TIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 72 (1984). However, because of that greater legal significance, voters are less likely to approve constitutional amendments. Id. 2. See Eugene C. Lee, Representative Government and the Initiative Process, in 6 CALIFORNIA POLICY CHOICES 228 (John Kirlin & Donald Winkler eds., 1990) (discussing the growing trend in California). 3. Only five states do not allow the legislature to amend or repeal statutory initiatives. See PHILIP L. DuBOIS & FLOYD F. FEENEY, IMPROVING THE CALIFORNIA INITIATIVE PROCESS: OPTIONS FOR CHANGE 70 (1992).

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