Richard Wolfe: Citizen action can be a powerful thing
Twenty-six states have statutory processes that enable citizens to place an initiative and/or referendum on their ballot. So does the District of Columbia, but it sort of doesn’t count because the U.S. Congress can reject anything the American citizens living there try to accomplish — which Republicans do, routinely.
Initiatives are citizen proposals for new statute(s) or constitutional amendment(s). Referenda allow citizens to "refer" to a law passed by a legislature to decide whether to uphold or repeal it.
In both circumstances, the operative function is that citizens undertake direct action, that is they bypass their elected officials and/or existing statute, to effect change based upon petitions of like-minded citizens.
Both are powerful tools and often lead to consequential results. One referendum in particular led to a ground-shaking result, although most certainly not the result sought by its sponsors.
In August 2022, the deeply red, Republican state of Kansas became the first state to vote on abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) handing down its shamefully concocted ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson's Women's Health Organization two months earlier.
Emboldened by SCOTUS’ ruling, forced birth proponents sought to eradicate protections for abortion rights already set forth in Kansas’ state constitution. Despite intentionally vague wording and placement on the (hoped-for) low-turnout primary ballot, Kansans preserved their abortion rights by an 18-point margin. Record-breaking turnout (>900k) was fueled by record-breaking new voter registrations of women.
Ouch. The "we despise women’s autonomy" crowd didn’t see that coming.
[Side note: Who thinks women will forget all about Dobbs when the 2024 election season rolls around? Republican candidates far and wide, that’s who. They’re banking their prospects on it.]
Closer to home, Michigan’s 2018 ballot initiative (Proposal 2) moved control of redistricting from the state legislature to an independent commission. It prevailed by more than 22 points (nearly one million votes). It transformed politics in Michigan and heralded an era of supercharged citizen involvement and awareness.
Thereafter, but hardly surprisingly, the party opposing progress activated its dark machine.
To wit, in 2022, Republicans desperately tried to keep Proposal 3 — which sought to provide a state constitutional right to reproductive freedom, as defined to include abortion, contraceptives, and pregnancy-related matters — off the ballot based solely on spacing and formatting errors. They failed, and Michiganders wound up approving Proposal 3 by a 14-point margin (nearly 600,000 votes).
Two other 2022 progressive ballot proposals prevailed by no less than 20-point margins.
As reported by Governing magazine (February 2023): “Last November’s outcomes again showed a majority of voters — even those in deep-red states — favoring progressive policies when voting on individual issues rather than voicing their party identity. But instead of accepting those outcomes as guidance to better represent their constituents, many Republican legislatures are trying to obstruct or neuter citizen lawmaking.”
These efforts have skyrocketed as Republicans seek to squelch the power of citizens (many of whom identify as Republican, but who favor some progressive or libertarian policies). The non-partisan, nonprofit (501c3) organization Reclaim Democracy has identified tactics pushed to obstruct or undermine citizen lawmaking.
Following is a bullet point listing of these tactics:
Prevent or impede initiatives from reaching voters
Constrain signature gatherers
Refuse to bring to a vote
Extreme signature requirements
Disqualify initiatives based on technicalities
Delay approval of petition language
Ban residents from signing a petition across state lines
Erect barriers to passage
Require supermajorities
Manipulate voting dates
Prevent or sabotage implementation
Delay or defund
Preempt or refuse to implement
Override citizen votes
Alter intent of successful initiatives
Informative — if disheartening — detail on each of these can be found at reclaimdemocracy.org/state-legislatures-initiatives-direct-democracy.
So, what do all these tactics have in common?
You won’t witness them being successful in any state where Democrats control at least one legislative chamber. You won’t see them even being considered where Democrats control both chambers.
Why is that?
Because Democrats don’t fear the will of the people.
Why is that?
Because the will of the people has repeatedly and resoundingly rejected autocratic rule, backed by dark money and marked by religious zealotry.
Autocratic rule as practiced, right here, in Ottawa County, by the county commissioners who remain affiliated with Ottawa Impact, Republicans all.
The good news here is a ballot initiative won’t be needed to turf them out in 13 months.
Informed voters should do the trick.
— Community Columnist Richard Wolfe is a resident of Park Township. Contact him at wolf86681346@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Richard Wolfe: Citizen action can be a powerful thing
