How voters can avoid waking up with a democratic hangover
[...] referendums and ballot measures are permanent parts of many modern democracies.
By the time Proposition 8 approached its final day in court, for example, Californians had reversed course and come to embrace same-sex marriage by a large margin.
After voting early in that state’s 2014 election, this individual read a neutral statement about a statewide proposition.
Every even-numbered year, the Oregon Citizens’ Initiative Review Commission convenes a panel of 20 to 24 randomly selected citizens to deliberate on a ballot measure.
After days of hearing from expert witnesses, and meeting in small groups, the panel writes a Citizens’ Statement.
A 2010 Review panel in Oregon asked itself that question when weighing an initiative that would have imposed tough minimum sentences on repeat sex offenders.
A 2012 Oregon Review panel weighed a proposal to remove a corporate tax loophole and provide funding for schools.
Imagine how, in Brexit, this kind of clarification might have helped refute the Vote Leave’s deceptive claim that Britain spends 350 million pounds in public funds per week on the European Union that could flow back into the National Health Service.
If the Review and similar reforms help voters reject bad choices at the ballot box, they may force governments to act directly on questions they would rather avoid.
John Gastil is a Penn State University professor in the departments of Communication Arts & Sciences and Political Science, as well as a senior scholar in the McCourtney Institute for Democracy.