Mark Wood, age 16, of Providence, R.I., for his question:
CAN YOU EXPLAIN INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM?
Initiative and referendum are actions that allow the voters of a city, state or country a certain amount of direct control over lawmaking. Through the initiative, the voters can introduce a law. Through the referendum, a proposed law is submitted to the people for approval.
When the expression "initiative and referendum" is used, it refers to a process in which voters both introduce a law and vote on it.
Both initiative and referendum enable the people to take direct political action if their representatives refuse to pass some legislation that the people want. A few laws have been passed by means of initiative and referendum. But these processes are too costly and clumsy to take the place of a lawmaking body.
In cities, states or countries that use the initiative, anyone may draw up a proposed law. If a specified number of voters sign a petition favoring it, the proposed law goes to the lawmaking body, which must vote on it. The initiative is useful in cases where lawmakers refuse to enact, or even to consider, a law the people want.
Laws providing for the initiative vary greatly from city, state and country.
In a referendum, a proposed law is set out on the ballot in an election. The statutory referendum passes on laws proposed by an initiative or those enacted by a legislative body.
The referendum appears in three forms: a compusory referendum that requires a legislature to submit certain measures to direct popular vote; the optional referendum that allows the legislature to refer a bill to a popular vote if it wishes; and the referendum by petition signed by a specified number of voters.
The constitutional referendum gives people the right to approve or reject a state constitution or amendments.
The initiative has been known only recently, but the referendum has been used for hundreds of years. Two cantons, or states, of Switzerland have had the referendum since the 1500s. Australia and New Zealand adopted the initiative and referendum in 1901.
The movement for initiative and referendum in the United States grew rapidly during the late 1800s and early 1900s. In 1898, South Dakota became the first state to adopt initiative and referendum laws. They were included in the Oregon constitution in 1902.
The power of initiative and referendum is provided by laws in many cities and in almost half of the states. These laws often include an additional provision called the recall. This is a method of removing certain elected officials from office by vote of the people.
Great Britain has no provision for the initiative and referendum as such, but the principle of the referendum, is a regular part of the British election system.
In Canada, the initiative and referendum has been discussed, but no steps have been taken to provide for them by law.