Direct democracy, classically termed pure democracy,[1] comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty is lodged in the assembly of all citizens who choose to participate.
Jan 17, 2009
<div id="globalWrapper"><div style="position: absolute; z-index: 40; left: 155px; top: 1px; clear: both; float: left; font-size: 90%; font-style: italic; white-space: nowrap;" id="anon-banner"><a href="http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Fundraising?source=enwiki_01" class="extiw" title="foundation:Fundraising"><b>Make a donation</b></a> to Wikipedia and give the gift of knowledge!</div>
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content">
<a name="top" id="top"></a>
<h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading">Direct democracy</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</h3>
<div id="jump-to-nav">Jump to: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#column-one">navigation</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#searchInput">search</a></div> <!-- start content -->
<div class="dablink">This article is about the form of democracy. For the movement in the British Conservative Party, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Democracy" title="Direct Democracy">Direct Democracy</a>.</div>
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 1em 1em; border-spacing: 0.4em 0pt; text-align: center; line-height: 1.4em; font-size: 88%;" cellpadding="" cellspacing="">
<tbody><tr>
<td class="" style="padding: 0pt; line-height: 0.4em;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 1.2em; padding-top: 0.2em;">This article is part of the<br>
<b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics" title="Politics">Politics</a></b> series</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="" style="padding: 0.2em 0.4em; background: rgb(204, 204, 204) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-size: 145%; line-height: 1.15em; font-weight: bold; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">✗ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy" title="Democracy">Democracy</a> ✗</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 0.4em;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0.2em 0.4em; background: rgb(221, 221, 221) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-weight: bold; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 1.3em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_democracy" title="History of democracy">History</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> ·</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varieties_of_democracy" title="Varieties of democracy">Varieties</a><br>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_types_of_democracy" title="List of types of democracy">List of types</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0.2em 0.4em 0.6em; text-align: left;">
<div>
<ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticipatory_democracy" title="Anticipatory democracy">Anticipatory</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenian_democracy" title="Athenian democracy">Athenian</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_democracy" title="Christian democracy">Christian</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_democracy" title="Consensus democracy">Consensus</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_democracy" title="Constitutional democracy" class="mw-redirect">Constitutional</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliberative_democracy" title="Deliberative democracy">Deliberative</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demarchy" title="Demarchy">Demarchy</a></li><li><strong class="selflink">Direct</strong></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grassroots_democracy" title="Grassroots democracy">Grassroots</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illiberal_democracy" title="Illiberal democracy">Illiberal</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_democracy" title="Islamic democracy">Islamic</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_democracy" title="Liberal democracy">Liberal</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messianic_democracy" title="Messianic democracy">Messianic</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-partisan_democracy" title="Non-partisan democracy">Non-partisan</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_democracy" title="Participatory democracy">Participatory</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_democracy" title="Religious democracy">Religious</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_democracy" title="Representative democracy">Representative</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_direct_democracy" title="Representative direct democracy" class="mw-redirect">Representative direct</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_democracy" title="Republican democracy">Republican</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_democracy" title="Social democracy">Social</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociocracy" title="Sociocracy">Sociocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_democracy" title="Soviet democracy">Soviet</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totalitarian_democracy" title="Totalitarian democracy">Totalitarian</a></li></ul>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0.3em 0.4em; background: rgb(221, 221, 221) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-weight: bold; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Politics" title="Portal:Politics">Politics portal</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-top: 0.4em;">
<div class="noprint plainlinksneverexpand navbar" style="padding: 0pt; background-color: transparent; white-space: nowrap; font-weight: normal; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Democracy" title="Template:Democracy"><span title="View this template" style="">v</span></a> <span style="font-size: 80%;">•</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Democracy" title="Template talk:Democracy"><span style="color: rgb(0, 43, 184);" title="Discussion about this template">d</span></a> <span style="font-size: 80%;">•</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Democracy&action=edit" class="external text" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Democracy&action=edit" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: rgb(0, 43, 184);" title="You can edit this template. Please use the preview button before saving.">e</span></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 1em 1em; border-spacing: 0.4em 0pt; text-align: center; line-height: 1.4em; font-size: 88%;" cellpadding="" cellspacing="">
<tbody><tr>
<td class="" style="padding: 0pt; line-height: 0.4em;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 1.2em; padding-top: 0.2em;">This article is part of the<br>
<b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics" title="Politics">Politics</a></b> series</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="" style="padding: 0.4em; background: rgb(204, 204, 204) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-size: 145%; font-weight: bold; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forms_of_government" title="Forms of government" class="mw-redirect">Forms of<br>
government</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 0.4em;"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0.2em 0.4em; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-weight: bold; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 1.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_forms_of_government" title="List of forms of government">List of forms of<br>
government</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0.2em 0.4em 0.6em; text-align: left;">
<div>
<ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchy" title="Anarchy">Anarchy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristocracy" title="Aristocracy">Aristocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarianism" title="Authoritarianism">Authoritarianism</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocracy" title="Autocracy">Autocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_state" title="Communist state">Communist state</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporatocracy" title="Corporatocracy">Corporatocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demarchy" title="Demarchy">Demarchy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy" title="Democracy">Democracy</a>
<div style="padding-left: 1em; line-height: 1.3em;"><strong class="selflink">Direct</strong><br>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_democracy" title="Representative democracy">Representative</a></div>
</li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Despotism" title="Despotism">Despotism</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship" title="Dictatorship">Dictatorship</a>
<div style="padding-left: 1em; line-height: 1.3em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_dictatorship" title="Military dictatorship">Military</a></div>
</li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudalism" title="Feudalism">Feudalism</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kritocracy" title="Kritocracy">Kritocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logocracy" title="Logocracy">Logocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy" title="Meritocracy">Meritocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minarchism" title="Minarchism">Minarchism</a>/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_watchman_state" title="Night watchman state">Night Watchman</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy" title="Monarchy">Monarchy</a>
<div style="padding-left: 1em; line-height: 1.3em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_monarchy" title="Absolute monarchy">Absolute</a><br>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_monarchy" title="Constitutional monarchy">Constitutional</a></div>
</li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noocracy" title="Noocracy">Noocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochlocracy" title="Ochlocracy">Ochlocracy</a>/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobocracy" title="Mobocracy" class="mw-redirect">Mobocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy" title="Oligarchy">Oligarchy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutocracy" title="Plutocracy">Plutocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic" title="Republic">Republic</a>
<div style="padding-left: 1em; line-height: 1.3em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalist_republic" title="Capitalist republic">Capitalist</a><br>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_republic" title="Constitutional republic">Constitutional</a><br>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_republic" title="Parliamentary republic">Parliamentary</a></div>
</li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_state" title="Socialist state">Socialist state</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociocracy" title="Sociocracy">Sociocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy_%28bureaucratic%29" title="Technocracy (bureaucratic)">Technocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theocracy" title="Theocracy">Theocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodemocracy" title="Theodemocracy">Theodemocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timocracy" title="Timocracy">Timocracy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totalitarianism" title="Totalitarianism">Totalitarianism</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribe" title="Tribe">Tribe</a>
<div style="padding-left: 1em; line-height: 1.3em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiefdom" title="Chiefdom">Chiefdom</a></div>
</li></ul>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0.3em 0.4em; background: rgb(221, 221, 221) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-weight: bold; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Politics" title="Portal:Politics">Politics portal</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-top: 0.4em;">
<div class="noprint plainlinksneverexpand navbar" style="padding: 0pt; background-color: transparent; white-space: nowrap; font-weight: normal; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Forms_of_government" title="Template:Forms of government"><span title="View this template" style="">v</span></a> <span style="font-size: 80%;">•</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Forms_of_government" title="Template talk:Forms of government"><span style="color: rgb(0, 43, 184);" title="Discussion about this template">d</span></a> <span style="font-size: 80%;">•</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Forms_of_government&action=edit" class="external text" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Forms_of_government&action=edit" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: rgb(0, 43, 184);" title="You can edit this template. Please use the preview button before saving.">e</span></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p><b>Direct democracy</b>, classically termed <b>pure democracy</b>,<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#cite_note-0" title=""><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></a></sup> comprises a form of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy" title="Democracy">democracy</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory" title="Theory">theory</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civics" title="Civics">civics</a> wherein <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereignty" title="Sovereignty">sovereignty</a> is lodged in the assembly of all <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship" title="Citizenship">citizens</a>
who choose to participate. Depending on the particular system, this
assembly might pass executive motions, make laws, elect and dismiss
officials and conduct <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial" title="Trial" class="mw-redirect">trials</a>.</p>
<p>Direct democracy stands in contrast to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_democracy" title="Representative democracy">representative democracy</a>,
where sovereignty is exercised by a subset of the people, usually on
the basis of election. However, it is possible to combine the two into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_direct_democracy" title="Representative direct democracy" class="mw-redirect">representative direct democracy</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliberative_democracy" title="Deliberative democracy">Deliberative democracy</a> incorporates elements of both direct democracy and representative democracy.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#cite_note-1" title=""><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></a></sup></p>
<p>Many countries that are representative democracies allow for three
forms of political action that provide limited direct democracy: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiative" title="Initiative">initiative</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendum" title="Referendum">referendum</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recall_election" title="Recall election">recall</a>.
Referendums can include the ability to hold a binding referendum on
whether a given law should be scrapped. This effectively grants the
populace a veto on government legislation. Recalls gives the people the
right to remove from office elected officials before the end of their
term.</p>
<table id="toc" class="toc" summary="Contents">
<tbody><tr>
<td>
<div id="toctitle">
<h2>Contents</h2>
<span class="toctoggle">[<a href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</span></div>
<ul><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#History"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Discussion"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Discussion</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Comparison_with_representative_democracy"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Comparison with representative democracy</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Examples"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Examples</span></a>
<ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Ancient_Athens"><span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">Ancient Athens</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Switzerland"><span class="tocnumber">4.2</span> <span class="toctext">Switzerland</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#United_States"><span class="tocnumber">4.3</span> <span class="toctext">United States</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Venezuela"><span class="tocnumber">4.4</span> <span class="toctext">Venezuela</span></a></li></ul>
</li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Contemporary_movements"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Contemporary movements</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#References"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a>
<ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Canada"><span class="tocnumber">9.1</span> <span class="toctext">Canada</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#General"><span class="tocnumber">9.2</span> <span class="toctext">General</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Germany"><span class="tocnumber">9.3</span> <span class="toctext">Germany</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Israel"><span class="tocnumber">9.4</span> <span class="toctext">Israel</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Italy"><span class="tocnumber">9.5</span> <span class="toctext">Italy</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#New_Zealand"><span class="tocnumber">9.6</span> <span class="toctext">New Zealand</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Poland"><span class="tocnumber">9.7</span> <span class="toctext">Poland</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Spain"><span class="tocnumber">9.8</span> <span class="toctext">Spain</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Sweden"><span class="tocnumber">9.9</span> <span class="toctext">Sweden</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#United_States_2"><span class="tocnumber">9.10</span> <span class="toctext">United States</span></a></li></ul>
</li></ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script>
<p><a name="History" id="History"></a></p>
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<dl><dd><span class="boilerplate seealso"><i>See also: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_democracy" title="History of democracy">History of democracy</a></i></span></dd></dl>
<table class="metadata plainlinks ambox ambox-style" style="">
<tbody><tr>
<td class="mbox-image">
<div style="width: 52px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ambox_style.png" class="image" title="Ambox style.png"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d6/Ambox_style.png" border="0" width="40" height="40"></a></div>
</td>
<td class="mbox-text" style="">This article's <b>citation style may be unclear</b>. The references used may be clearer with a different or consistent style of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">citation</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnote" title="Wikipedia:Footnote" class="mw-redirect">footnoting</a>, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links" title="Wikipedia:External links">external linking</a>. <small><i>(January 2008)</i></small></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p>The first recorded democracy, which was also direct, was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenian_democracy" title="Athenian democracy">Athenian democracy</a> in the 5th century BC. The main bodies in the Athenian democracy were the assembly, composed by male citizens, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boule_%28ancient_Greece%29" title="Boule (ancient Greece)">boule</a> which was composed by 500 citizens chosen annually by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition" title="Sortition">lot</a>),
and the law courts composed by a massive number of juries chosen by
lot, with no judges. Out of the male population of 30,000, several
thousand citizens were politically active every year and many of them
quite regularly for years on end. The Athenian democracy was not only <i>direct</i> in the sense that decisions were made by the assembled people, but also <i>directest</i>
in the sense that the people through the assembly, boule and law courts
controlled the entire political process and a large proportion of
citizens were involved constantly in the public business.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#cite_note-2" title=""><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></a></sup>
Modern democracies do not use institutions that resemble the Athenian
system of rule, due to the problems arising when implementing such on
the scale of modern societies.</p>
<p>Also relevant is the history of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome" title="Ancient Rome">Roman</a>
republic beginning circa 449 BC (Cary, 1967). The ancient Roman
Republic's "citizen lawmaking"-citizen formulation and passage of law,
as well as citizen veto of legislature-made law-began about 449 BC and
lasted the approximately four hundred years to the death of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar" title="Julius Caesar">Julius Caesar</a> in 44 BC. Many historians mark the end of the Republic on the passage of a law named the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lex_Titia" title="Lex Titia">Lex Titia</a></i>, 27 November 43 BC (Cary, 1967).</p>
<p>Modern-era citizen lawmaking began in the towns of Switzerland in
the 13th century. In 1847, the Swiss added the "statute referendum" to
their national constitution. They soon discovered that merely having
the power to veto Parliament's laws was not enough. In 1891, they added
the "constitutional amendment initiative". The Swiss political battles
since 1891 have given the world a valuable experience base with the
national-level constitutional amendment initiative (Kobach, 1993).
Today, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a>
is still an example of modern direct democracy, as it exhibits the
first two pillars at both the local and federal levels. In the past 120
years more than 240 initiatives have been put to referendum. The
populace has been conservative, approving only about 10% of the
initiatives put before them; in addition, they have often opted for a
version of the initiative rewritten by government. (See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Direct_democracy_in_Switzerland" title=""><i>Direct democracy in Switzerland</i></a> below.) Another example is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a>, where, despite being a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_republic" title="Federal republic">federal republic</a> where no direct democracy exists at the federal level, over half the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state" title="U.S. state">states</a>
(and many localities) provide for citizen-sponsored ballot initiatives
(also called "ballot measures" or "ballot questions") and the vast
majority of the states have either initiatives and/or referendums. (See
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#Direct_democracy_in_the_United_States" title=""><i>Direct democracy in the United States</i></a> below.)</p>
<p>Some of the issues surrounding the related notion of a direct democracy using the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet" title="Internet">Internet</a> and other communications technologies are dealt with in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-democracy" title="E-democracy">e-democracy</a>. More concisely, the concept of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_governance" title="Open source governance">open source governance</a> applies principles of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software_movement" title="Free software movement">free software movement</a>
to the governance of people, allowing the entire populace to
participate in government directly, as much or as little as they
please. This development strains the traditional concept of democracy,
because it does not give equal representation to each person. Some
implementations may even be considered democratically-inspired <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy" title="Meritocracy">meritocracies</a>, where contributors to the code of laws are given preference based on their ranking by other contributors.</p>
<p><a name="Discussion" id="Discussion"></a></p>
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Discussion">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Discussion</span></h2>
<p>Many <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_movement" title="Political movement">political movements</a> within representative democracies, seek to restore some measure of direct democracy or a more <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliberative_democracy" title="Deliberative democracy">deliberative democracy</a>, and to include <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_decision-making" title="Consensus decision-making">consensus decision-making</a> rather than simply <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majoritarian" title="Majoritarian">majority rule</a>. Such movements advocate more frequent public votes and referendums on issues, and less of the so-called "rule by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politician" title="Politician">politician</a>". Collectively, these movements are referred to as advocating <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grassroots_democracy" title="Grassroots democracy">grassroots democracy</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_democracy" title="Consensus democracy">consensus democracy</a>, to differentiate it from a simple direct democracy model. Another related movement is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_politics" title="Community politics">community politics</a> which seeks to engage representatives with communities directly.</p>
<p>Some anarchists (usually <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_anarchism" title="Social anarchism">social anarchists</a>) have advocated forms of direct democracy as an alternative to the centralized state and capitalism; however, others (such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualist_anarchism" title="Individualist anarchism">individualist anarchists</a>)
have criticized direct democracy and democracy in general for ignoring
the rights of the minority, and instead have advocated a form of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_decision-making" title="Consensus decision-making">consensus decision-making</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Marxism" title="Libertarian Marxism">Libertarian Marxists</a>, however, fully support direct democracy in the form of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship_of_the_proletariat" title="Dictatorship of the proletariat">proletarian republic</a>
and see majority rule and citizen participation as virtues. Within
Marxist circles, "proletarian democracy" is synonymous with direct
democracy, just as "bourgeois democracy" is synonymous with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_democracy" title="Representative democracy">representative democracy</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#cite_note-3" title=""><span>[</span>4<span>]</span></a></sup></p>
<p><a name="Comparison_with_representative_democracy" id="Comparison_with_representative_democracy"></a></p>
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Comparison with representative democracy">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Comparison with representative democracy</span></h2>
<table class="metadata plainlinks ambox ambox-content" style="">
<tbody><tr>
<td class="mbox-image">
<div style="width: 52px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Unbalanced_scales.svg" class="image" title="Unbalanced scales.svg"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fe/Unbalanced_scales.svg/40px-Unbalanced_scales.svg.png" border="0" width="40" height="35"></a></div>
</td>
<td class="mbox-text" style=""><b>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view" title="Wikipedia:Neutral point of view">neutrality</a> of this section is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:NPOV_dispute" title="Wikipedia:NPOV dispute">disputed</a>.</b><br>
<small>Please see the discussion on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Direct_democracy" title="Talk:Direct democracy">talk page</a>. <i>(October 2008)</i></small><br>
<small>Please do not remove this message until the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:NPOVD#What_is_an_NPOV_dispute.3F" title="Wikipedia:NPOVD" class="mw-redirect">dispute is resolved.</a></small></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<table class="metadata plainlinks ambox ambox-notice" style="">
<tbody><tr>
<td class="mbox-image">
<div style="width: 52px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w.svg" class="image" title="Wiki letter w.svg"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg/36px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png" border="0" width="36" height="36"></a></div>
</td>
<td class="mbox-text" style=""><b>Please help <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&action=edit" class="external text" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&action=edit" rel="nofollow">improve this section</a> by expanding it.</b> Further information might be found on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Direct_democracy" title="Talk:Direct democracy">talk page</a>. <small><i>(October 2008)</i></small></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p>Ideas regarding the desirability of direct democracy are usually in comparison to its widespread alternative, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_democracy" title="Representative democracy">representative democracy</a>. (Hans Köchler, 1995)</p>
<ul><li><b>Political parties.</b> The formation of political parties is
considered by some to be a "necessary evil" of representative
democracy, where combined resources are often needed to get candidates
elected. However, such parties mean that individual representatives
must compromise their own values and those of the electorate, in order
to fall in line with the party platform. At times, only a minor
compromise is needed. At other times such a large compromise is
demanded that a representative will resign or switch parties. In
structural terms, the party system may be seen as a form of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy" title="Oligarchy">oligarchy</a>.
(Hans Köchler, 1995) Meanwhile, in direct democracy, political parties
have virtually no effect, as people do not need to conform with popular
opinions. In addition to party cohesion, representatives may also
compromise in order to achieve other objectives, by passing combined
legislation, where for example minimum wage measures are combined with
tax relief. In order to satisfy one desire of the electorate, the
representative may have to abandon a second principle. In direct
democracy, each issue would be decided on its own merits, and so
"special interests" would not be able to include unpopular measures in
this way.</li></ul>
<ul><li><b>Voter apathy.</b> If voters have more influence on decisions, it
is argued that they will take more interest in and participate more in
deciding those issues.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#cite_note-4" title=""><span>[</span>5<span>]</span></a></sup></li></ul>
<ul><li><b>Scale.</b> Direct democracy works on a small system. For
example, the Athenian Democracy governed a city of, at its height,
about 30,000 eligible voters (free adult male citizens). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_meeting" title="Town meeting">Town meetings</a>, a form of local government once common in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England" title="New England">New England</a>, have also worked well, often emphasizing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus" title="Consensus">consensus</a> over <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majority_rule" title="Majority rule">majority rule</a>. The use of direct democracy on a larger scale has historically been more difficult, however.<sup id="cite_ref-mansbridge_5-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#cite_note-mansbridge-5" title=""><span>[</span>6<span>]</span></a></sup>
Nevertheless, developments in technology such as the internet,
user-friendly and secure software, and inexpensive, powerful personal
computers have all inspired new hope in the practicality of large scale
applications of direct democracy. Furthermore ideas such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_democracy" title="Council democracy" class="mw-redirect">council democracy</a> and the Marxist concept of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship_of_the_proletariat" title="Dictatorship of the proletariat">dictatorship of the proletariat</a> are if nothing else proposals to enact direct democracy in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation-states" title="Nation-states" class="mw-redirect">nation-states</a> and beyond.</li></ul>
<ul><li><b>Manipulation by timing and framing.</b> If voters are to decide
on an issue in a referendum, a day (or other period of time) must be
set for the vote and the question must be framed, but since the date on
which the question is set and different formulations of the same
question evoke different responses, whoever sets the date of the vote
and frames the question has the possibility of influencing the result
of the vote.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#cite_note-6" title=""><span>[</span>7<span>]</span></a></sup>
Manipulation is also present in pure democracy with a growing
population. Original members of the society are able to instigate
measures and systems that enable them to manipulate the thoughts of new
members to the society. Proponents counter that a portion of time could
be dedicated and mandatory as opposed to a per-issue referendum. In
other words, each member of civil society could be required to
participate in governing their society each week, day, or other period
of time.</li></ul>
<p><a name="Examples" id="Examples"></a></p>
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Examples">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Examples</span></h2>
<p><a name="Ancient_Athens" id="Ancient_Athens"></a></p>
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Ancient Athens">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Ancient Athens</span></h3>
<dl><dd>
<div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenian_democracy" title="Athenian democracy">Athenian democracy</a></i></div>
</dd></dl>
<p><a name="Switzerland" id="Switzerland"></a></p>
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Switzerland">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Switzerland</span></h3>
<p>In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a>, single majorities are sufficient at the town, city, and state (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_of_Switzerland" title="Canton of Switzerland" class="mw-redirect">canton</a>
and half-canton) level, but at the national level, "double majorities"
are required on constitutional matters. The intent of the double
majorities is simply to ensure any citizen-made law's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legitimacy" title="Legitimacy">legitimacy</a> (Kobach, 1993).</p>
<p>Double majorities are, first, the approval by a majority of those
voting, and, second, a majority of states in which a majority of those
voting approve the ballot measure. A citizen-proposed law (i.e. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiative" title="Initiative">initiative</a>)
cannot be passed in Switzerland at the national level if a majority of
the people approve, but a majority of the states disapprove (Kobach,
1993). For referendums or proposition in general terms (like the
principle of a general revision of the Constitution), the majority of
those voting is enough (Swiss constitution, 2005).</p>
<p>In 1890, when the provisions for Swiss national citizen lawmaking
were being debated by civil society and government, the Swiss copied
the idea of double majorities from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress" title="United States Congress">United States Congress</a>,
in which House votes were to represent the people and Senate votes were
to represent the states (Kobach, 1993). According to its supporters,
this "legitimacy-rich" approach to national citizen lawmaking has been
very successful. Kobach claims that Switzerland has had tandem
successes both socially and economically which are matched by only a
few other nations, and that the United States is not one of them.
Kobach states at the end of his book, "Too often, observers deem
Switzerland an oddity among political systems. It is more appropriate
to regard it as a pioneer." Finally, the Swiss political system,
including its direct democratic devices in a multi-level governance
context, becomes increasingly interesting for scholars of EU
integration (see Trechsel, 2005).</p>
<p><a name="United_States" id="United_States"></a></p>
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: United States">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">United States</span></h3>
<dl><dd>
<div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_direct_democracy_in_the_United_States" title="History of direct democracy in the United States">History of direct democracy in the United States</a></i></div>
</dd></dl>
<p>Direct democracy was very much opposed by the framers of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution" title="United States Constitution">United States Constitution</a> and some signers of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence" title="United States Declaration of Independence">Declaration of Independence</a>. They saw a danger in majorities forcing their will on minorities. As a result, they advocated a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_democracy" title="Representative democracy">representative democracy</a> in the form of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_republic" title="Constitutional republic">constitutional republic</a> over a direct democracy. For example, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Madison" title="James Madison">James Madison</a>, in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_No._10" title="Federalist No. 10">Federalist No. 10</a>
advocates a constitutional republic over direct democracy precisely to
protect the individual from the will of the majority. He says, "A pure
democracy can admit no cure for the mischiefs of faction. A common
passion or interest will be felt by a majority, and there is nothing to
check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party. Hence it is, that
democracies have ever been found incompatible with personal security or
the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their
lives as they have been violent in their deaths."<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_democracy&printable=yes#cite_note-7" title=""><span>[</span>8<span>]</span></a></sup> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Witherspoon" title="John Witherspoon">John Witherspoon</a>, one of the signers of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Independence" title="Declaration of Independence" class="mw-redirect">Declaration of Independence</a>,
said "Pure democracy cannot subsist long nor be carried far into the
departments of state - it is very subject to caprice and the madness of
popular rage." <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton" title="Alexander Hamilton">Alexander Hamilton</a>
said, "That a pure democracy if it were practicable would be the most
perfect government. Experience has proved that no position is more
false than this. The ancient democracies in which the people themselves
deliberated never possessed one good feature of government. Their very
character was tyranny; their figure deformity..."..</p>
<p>Despite the framers' intentions in the beginning of the republic,
ballot measures and their corresponding referendums have been widely
used at the state and sub-state level. There is much state and federal <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_law" title="Case law">case law</a>,
from the early 1900s to the 1990s, that protects the people's right to
each of these direct democracy governance components (Magleby, 1984,
and Zimmerman, 1999). The first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Supreme_Court" title="United States Supreme Court" class="mw-redirect">United States Supreme Court</a> ruling in favor of the citizen lawmaking was in <i>Pacific States Telephone and Telegraph Company v. Oregon</i>, 223 U.S. 118-in 1912 (Zimmerman, December 1999). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States" title="President of the United States">President</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt" title="Theodore Roosevelt">Theodore Roosevelt</a>, in his "Charter of Democracy" speech to the 1912 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio" title="Ohio">Ohio</a>
constitutional convention, stated "I believe in the Initiative and
Referendum, which should be used not to destroy representative
government, but to correct it whenever it becomes misrepresentative."</p>
<p>In various states, referendums through which the people rule include:</p>
<ul><li><i>Referrals</i> by the legislature to the people of "proposed constitutional amendments" (constitutionally used in 49 states, excepting only <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware" title="Delaware">Delaware</a> - Initiative & Referendum Institute, 2004).</li><li><i>Referrals</i> by the legislature to the people of "proposed
statute laws" (constitutionally used in all 50 states - Initiative
& Referendum Institute, 2004).</li><li><i>Constitutional amendment initiative</i> is the most powerful
citizen-initiated, direct democracy governance component. It is a
constitutionally-defined petition process of "proposed constitutional
law," which, if successful, results in its provisions being written
directly into the state's constitution. Since constitutional law cannot
be altered by state legislatures, this direct democracy component gives
the people an automatic superiority and sovereignty, over
representative government (Magelby, 1984). It is utilized at the state
level in eighteen states: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona" title="Arizona">Arizona</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas" title="Arkansas">Arkansas</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California" title="California">California</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado" title="Colorado">Colorado</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida" title="Florida">Florida</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois" title="Illinois">Illinois</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts" title="Massachusetts">Massachusetts</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan" title="Michigan">Michigan</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi" title="Mississippi">Mississippi</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri" title="Missouri">Missouri</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana" title="Montana">Montana</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska" title="Nebraska">Nebraska</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada" title="Nevada">Nevada</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakota" title="North Dakota">North Dakota</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio" title="Ohio">Ohio</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma" title="Oklahoma">Oklahoma</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon" title="Oregon">Oregon</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota" title="South Dakota">South Dakota</a>
(Cronin, 1989). Among the eighteen states, there are three main types
of the constitutional amendment initiative, with different degrees of
involvement of the state legislature distinguishing between the types
(Zimmerman, December 1999).</li><li><i>Statute law initiative</i> is a constitutionally-defined,
citizen-initiated, petition process of "proposed statute law," which,
if successful, results in law being written directly into the state's
statutes. The statute initiative is used at the state level in
twenty-one states: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska" title="Alaska">Alaska</a>, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho" title="Idaho">Idaho</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine" title="Maine">Maine</a>, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah" title="Utah">Utah</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington" title="Washington">Washington</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming" title="Wyoming">Wyoming</a>
(Cronin, 1989). Note that, in Utah, there is no constitutional
provision for citizen lawmaking. All of Utah's I&R law is in the
state statutes (Zimmerman, December 1999). In most states, there is no
special protection for citizen-made statutes; the legislature can begin
to amend them immediately.</li><li><i>Statute law referendum</i> is a constitutionally-defined,
citizen-initiated, petition process of the "proposed veto of all or
part of a legislature-made law," which, if successful, repeals the
standing law. It is used at the state level in twenty-four states:
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky" title="Kentucky">Kentucky</a>, Maine, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland" title="Maryland">Maryland</a>, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,
[back to articles]
|
