Direct Democracy in America
Dr. Joshua Dyck
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences
June 18, 2008
UB Reporter Article on Lecture
For about 100 years, citizens in about half of all states and most localities have been given the opportunity to propose legislation, vote on deferred bills, and even remove and replace public officials from office. The initiative, referendum and recall form the trio of direct democratic institutions in America, and have been used in recent years with greater frequency and force. New Yorkers may lack firsthand experience with these institutions, but many will be familiar with their results: definition of marriage laws, property tax rollbacks, affirmative action repeals, harsher sex offender registration and monitoring laws, minimum wage increases, classroom size mandates, term limits, and the ascension of Arnold Schwarzenegger from Terminator to Governator, to name just a few. This lecture will examine the research on ballot initiatives and referenda in an attempt to evaluate this 100 year old experiment in policymaking. The guiding questions will be: (1) What types of policies does direct democracy produce? (2) Does direct democracy produce majoritarian policy? (3) Are citizens adequately informed about politics to evaluate policy questions? and (4) Is there potential for majority tyranny?
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