Any practical advice is welcome.
Edit: After some research, the path seems to be basically this:
- Get state residents to contact their delegates asking them to draft and/or support a constitutional amendment that gives citizens power to submit ballot initiatives (that’s what we do not currently have in our state constitution).
- The legislature has to pass it by 2/3 in order for it to appear on the ballot (governor does not need to sign it for it to appear on the ballot)
- A simple majority of voters (> 50%) would have to vote “yes” on the proposed amendment on election day.
Sounds easy enough, but the last 4 ballot initiatives (all legislatively sponsored) were basically power grabs (thankfully none of them passed). Still, going to see if I can maybe get the ball rolling and channel my jealousy of other states into something productive.
Ballot initiatives are Democracy. That’s about as good as it gets for us. It’s bullshit that they are not accessible in every state.
The lack thereof makes the state legislature into a variation of an autocrat.
I agree, and I’m wondering if that brings up a “hail mary” pathway for OP. If all avenues of representation have failed, could OP sue the state to allow ballot initiatives? OP said in another reply they even elected a Democrat legislator, but the legislator changed to Republican after getting into office. Did that create a valid argument that, even following the accepted pathways for representation, it is unavailable to OP, therefor with ballot initiatives also unavailable to OP, there is no representation possibly raising constitutional questions?
Yes the lawsuit would fail, but it would act as a rallying point for others which could add momentum for change.
I did some research, and we basically need a constitutional amendment in order to grant this power to the citizens. Updated the post body with the three “simple” steps needed to make that happen. Not impossible, but it’s an uphill climb.
If you’re in Kansas, I took at a look at the State Constitution a couple days ago when I read the headlines.
If my reading is right (and IANAL), that State Constitutional Amendment would need to be raised in the state legislature. Since your representation there has been effectively annulled with the party switch of your rep, that feels like that may give you standing to sue. Thats my thinking anyway. Talk to people that really know what they’re talking about instead of me.
I disagree in practice and in theory.
In practice, until we get corporate money out of politics, ballot initiatives are pretty much decided by advertising dollars. If you’ve got the money, you can buy any law you want with the right ad campaign.
In theory, ballot initiatives aren’t democracy but populism. Ballot initiatives rely on popular vote to protect minority rights.
Let me give a little example. I always think of the exclusionary rule, implied by necessity from the Fourth Amendment: illegally obtained criminal evidence is inadmissible against the accused. That’s a minoritarian right, it protects a minority of unpopular people: accused criminals.
If we voted on it, do we think we would vote to let criminals go free just because a cop made a mistake?
Suppose this question comes up on a ballot initiative in a nice liberal state such as Massachusetts, which allows ballot initiatives. It’s probably going to get voted down. The liberals are going to fight it. The defense bar will fight it. They’ll probably defeat it. And that’s great. Democracy at work, right?
Do it again next year though. And next year. And next year. And next year. Put the squeeze on all those liberal activists going door to door making a hard get-out-the-vote pitch on behalf of accused criminals. Put the squeeze on all those defense lawyers, who make a living defending accused criminals–not traditionally wealthy people–and make them spend down their political capital. While they’re busy fighting the initiative, what other special interests will have ballot initiatives that year that need to be fough, what else are they trying to jam through at the legislature hoping everyone is too distracted and tapped out by the initiative to muster the political capital to stop?
There are plenty of cherished minority rights that are not popular when put to the masses, but essential to those few who benefit from them.
In sum, ballot initiatives = populism, not democracy.