Initiative/Referendum

I disagree that the use of initiatives and referendum should be abolished. They can be very helpful in terms of voter turnout, getting more people involved, and working around social interest groups in order to get new issues noticed by the general public. Though this system is not perfected and there are occasional unintended consequences, for the most part initiatives are a great way to give voters a voice.

In the past, it has been proven that initiatives have positively influenced voter turnout. The article we read, "Ballot Measures Preview 2008", stated that the 2004 election was won because of a certain initiative that was on the Ohio ballot. We can see how initiatives helped in this election, unfortunately it's not like that in every election.

Just because not every election has increased voter turnout due to referendum that does not mean they are still not extremely helpful in getting the general public more involved with political issues. Though America is a democracy it is not a direct democracy. The people don't actually rule. As far as freedoms go we definitely have more of a say than most people in most other countries. Being able to put specific issues on ballots however, really helps spread certain messages and get people involved.

Aside from increasing voter turnout and getting more people involved, initiatives are one of the only ways to get around special interest groups. Normally certain groups have a heavy influence on what reforms get voted on and what actually gets changed. When people come up with initiatives they can work around the groups so that they can't stop change. Basically initiatives recognize the people as having power and give them enough of a voice to get the issue heard and eventually turned into a law.