The Initiative Decision

I do not believe that California, Colorado, and other states that use the initiative should abolish its use. In fact, I believe the opposite in thinking that all states should adopt the initiative as part of their voting process. Our government, being an indirect democracy, forces We, the People, to entrust elected officials in making choices that are in our best interest. But, who can better say what is in the best interest of a person than that him or herself. Through the initiative, citizens outside of legislature receive an opportunity to directly express their opinion on various matters and alter the law through popular vote.

The initiative has many positive influences on the American government. It can cause citizens to become more engaged, better educate voters on their decisions, and give the public a direct say. Some may argue that the general public is uniformed about the issues they would be voting on. To this, I would argue that the public is uneducated on matters because the current government has put them out in the cold. Due to the use of an indirect democracy, the public votes for representative who from then on makes decisions for them. If the initiative were put into action, people could then be more informed about the governments decisions by being a part of them. Citizens could gain the information they needed via the media and various other sources such as the internet and draw their own conclusions rather than have a representative draw a conclusion for them.

The initiative would also cause voters to become more involved. According to "Ballot Measures Preview 2008," voter turnout increased often by three to five points in 2004 when voters are provided with the use of the initiative. Because the people felt that their opinion counted, they too the time out of their busy schedules to voice their opinion directly in the election. While many voters may believe their single vote would not affect the outcome of something such as a presidential election, the initiative provides those with a say in a popular vote, (with no alteration of the people's voice such as that of the electoral vote used in the presidency), making them feel that their opinion is more seriously considered. This would obviously draw a voter to utilize their right to vote.

Finally, the public deserves a direct say in the laws that concern and will affect them, and the initiative does just that. In 2007, voters in Alaska passed a measure prohibiting the extension of benefits to the same-sex partners of government workers (National Conference of State Legislatures database). In this situation, the same-sex workers were the minority. The opinion that majorities can use the initiative to overwhelm minority rights is frequently voiced. However, this opinion is contradictory in itself. The purpose of a vote is for the public to have a choice between multiple candidates or policies. The majority is how a vote is determined and therefore, the majority should rule. Each person is initially given an equal say and the choice that has the popular vote has received it because the majority people believed it was in their best interest. For these and other reasons, the initiative should be adopted by all states, so that the"government of the people," can be decided "by the people, for the people."