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Less than half of Americanstrust elected officials to act in the publics interest.
When voters want something done on an issue and their elected officials fail to act, they may turn to citizen initiatives to pursue their goals instead. The citizen initiative process varies by state, but in general, citizens collect signatures to have an issue put directly on the ballot for the voters to voice their preferences. Nearly half the states, 24 of them,allow citizen initiatives.
These measures, also called ballot initiatives, often focus on the controversial issues of the day. Citizen initiativeson same-sex marriageandmarijuana legalizationhave been on many state ballots through the years. Abortion rights have repeatedlybeen on the ballot since 2022, after the Supreme Courtoverturned the constitutional protection for abortion, and more voters can expect tovote on the issue in 2024.
I am anAmerican politics scholarwho studies the connection between representation and public policy. In American democracy, the people expect to have a voice, whether that comes through electing representatives or directly voting on issues.
Yet it isbecoming increasingly commonfor lawmakers across the country to not only ignore the will of the people, but also actively work against it. From 2010 to 2015, about 21% of citizen initiatives werealtered by lawmakersafter they passed. From 2016 to 2018, lawmakers altered nearly 36% of passed citizen initiatives.
Invalidate, weaken, repeal
Heres what some of those cases look like, from successful to unsuccessful efforts to alter the will of the people:
In November 2023,Ohio voters passed an amendment to their states constitutionprotecting the right to abortion. Within a week, a group of Ohio Republican lawmakersdeclared the amendment to be invalidandintroduced legislationthat would strip state courts from having authority to rule on the issue of abortion. Ohio House Speaker, Republican Jason Stephens,rejected the proposed legislation.
In July 2018, Washington, D.C., voters approved anincrease in the minimum wagefor tipped workers. Three months later, the City Councilrepealed the initiative.
In 2016, voters in South Dakotasupported an initiativeto revise campaign finance and lobbying laws and create an ethics commission. Governor Dennis Daugaardsigned a lawrepealing the initiative in February 2017. Another citizen initiative to create an ethics commission wason the ballot in 2018, but did not pass.
Revise and amend
Often lawmakers rewrite laws passed through initiative. Some revisions change key components of the initiatives, while others amend technical details.
Ohioans voted in favor of legalizing marijuanain November 2023. In that initiative, part of the tax revenue from marijuana sales would go to a financial assistance program for those who show social and economic disadvantage. The Ohio Senatepassed a billthe following month that would instead use the tax revenue to fund jails and law enforcement.
Massachusetts voterspassed recreational marijuana legalizationin 2016. In 2017, the Legislature passed a bill toincrease the excise taxon marijuana from the 3.75% set in the citizens initiative to 10.75%.
In 2018, Utah voters made adults with income up to 138% of the federal poverty level eligible for Medicaid a federal-state health insurance program for low-income individuals and those with disabilities. The state Legislature applied to the federal government for waivers tolower the income limit to 100% of the federal poverty level, which curtailed the expansion voters approved.
Arizona votersapproved a tax increaseon the wealthy to fund the states schools in 2020. In 2021, the Legislature responded byexempting business earnings from the tax. There was an attempt by citizen initiative later that year torepeal the legislatures law exempting business earnings, but it did not gather enough signatures from citizens to make it to the ballot.
Governors object
In some cases, it is not the legislature that opposes the will of the voters, but the governor. In recent years, several Republican governors have refused to implement Medicaid expansions passed by voter initiatives.
Maines former governor, Paul LePage, said he would go to jail before he wouldimplement Medicaid expansionafter it passed by voter initiative in 2017. Medicaid was not expanded untilDemocrat Janet Mills took officein 2019.
Missouri Governor Mike Parsonsaid he would not move forward with the 2020 voter-passed Medicaid expansion because it would not pay for itself. In 2021, theMissouri Supreme Courtruled the initiative valid and Medicaid expansion moved forward.
Why they do it
Lawmakers who rewrite or overturn ballot initiatives sometimes argue thatvoters do not understandwhat they are supporting. Lawmakers, unlike citizens, have to balance state budgets every year, and they often raise questions about how to pay for the policies or programs passed by initiative.
Lawmakers also argue that outside groups play an outsized role in passing ballot initiatives. Whilepolitical science researchprovides some support for this claim, outside groups also have influence in the regular legislative process. And they often work to defeat initiatives as well.
Citizen initiatives became popularduring the Progressive Eraof the early 20th century as a way to give power back to citizens. Then, as now, citizens felt political power was too concentrated in the hands of the wealthy. Initiatives were one way for everyday people to get more involved in their government.
That only half of states permit citizen initiatives suggests that political elites arenot always supportiveof a process that limits their own power. Historically, though, legislators haverespected the results. Some lawmakers, including Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, state they will continue toaccept the will of the people. To do otherwise undermines democracy.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here:https://theconversation.com/voters-dont-always-have-final-say-state-legislatures-and-governors-are-increasingly-undermining-ballot-measures-that-win-218764.
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