Direct Democracy: The Politics of Initiative, Referendum, and Recall. By Thomas E. Cronin. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989. 289p. $25.00. - Citizen Lawmakers: The Ballot Initiative Revolution. By David S. Schmidt. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989. 345p. $25.00.

1991 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 281-282
Author(s):  
Robert Benedict
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Harvard University ◽  
Ballot Initiative ◽  
Temple University

Does Process Matter? Direct Democracy and Citizens’ Perceptions of Laws

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-237
Author(s):  
Christina Ladam
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Negligible Effect ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Ballot Initiative ◽  
Initiative Process ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Outcome Evaluations ◽  
The Way

AbstractDoes the process used to pass a law affect the way citizens evaluate the outcome? In a series of experiments, I manipulate the way in which a law is passed – ballot initiative or the legislative process – to test the effect of process on citizens’ evaluations of policy outcomes. The results show that people view the ballot initiative process as fairer than the legislative process, but that process has a negligible effect on outcome evaluations.

Guns in the Ballot Box

2000 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARK R. JOSLYN ◽  
DONALD P. HAIDER-MARKEL
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Information Environment ◽  
Ballot Initiative ◽  
Competing Interests ◽  
Behavioral Dynamics

This article examines the extent to which a change in the information environment affected opinion of a recent gun safety ballot initiative in Washington. Through content analysis of newspaper stories and documentation of expenditures of competing interests, the authors are able to detect a discernable shift in the information environment during the final weeks of the campaign. Support for the initiative dropped appreciably concurrent with this shift. The authors are able to show that the altered information context (a) generated the greatest change among the most politically aware respondents and (b) sustained this effect within specific partisan classifications. Although previous research investigates analogous behavioral dynamics in a variety of political settings, this analysis differs in application to ballot initiative campaigns. The authors discuss the implications of their findings in terms of direct democracy campaigns and conclude that influence of competing interests are central to the nature and outcome of the election.

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