Canada cannot be citizen focused without Direct Democracy Initiatives
Jan 17, 2009
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<h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading">Initiative</h1>
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<h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</h3>
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<div class="dablink">This piece is about the popular or citizen's initiative. For alternative meanings of <i>initiative</i>, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiative_%28disambiguation%29" title="Initiative (disambiguation)">Initiative (disambiguation)</a>.</div>
<p>In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_science" title="Political science">political science</a>, the <b>initiative</b> (also known as <b>popular</b> or <b>citizen's initiative</b>) provides a means by which a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petition" title="Petition">petition</a> signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote on a proposed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute" title="Statute">statute</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_amendment" title="Constitutional amendment">constitutional amendment</a>, charter amendment or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_ordinance" title="Local ordinance">ordinance</a>,
or, in its minimal form, to simply oblige the executive or legislative
bodies to consider the subject by submitting it to the order of the
day. It is a form of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_democracy" title="Direct democracy">direct democracy</a>. It has also been referred to as "minority initiative," thus relating it to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority_influence" title="Minority influence">minority influence</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&printable=yes#cite_note-0" title=""><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></a></sup></p>
<p>The initiative may take the form of either the <b>direct initiative</b> or <b>indirect initiative</b>.
Under the direct initiative, a measure is put directly to a vote after
being submitted by a petition. Under the indirect initiative, a measure
is first referred to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legislature" title="Legislature">legislature</a>, and then only put to a popular vote if not enacted by the legislature. In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> usage, a popular vote on a specific measure is referred to as a <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendum" title="Referendum">referendum</a></i> only when originating with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legislature" title="Legislature">legislature</a>. Such a vote is known, when originating in the initiative process, as an "initiative," "ballot measure" or "proposition."</p>
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<ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apportionment_%28politics%29" title="Apportionment (politics)">Apportionment</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossover_voting" title="Crossover voting">Crossover voting</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering" title="Gerrymandering">Gerrymandering</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redistribution_%28election%29" title="Redistribution (election)">Redistribution (redistricting)</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_ballot" title="Secret ballot">Secret ballot</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffrage" title="Suffrage">Suffrage</a></li></ul>
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<h2>Contents</h2>
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<ul><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&printable=yes#Brief_history_of_popular_initiative"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Brief history of popular initiative</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&printable=yes#Initiative_in_the_United_States"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Initiative in the United States</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&printable=yes#Popular_initiatives_in_the_European_Union"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Popular initiatives in the European Union</span></a>
<ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&printable=yes#France"><span class="tocnumber">3.1</span> <span class="toctext">France</span></a></li></ul>
</li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&printable=yes#References"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&printable=yes#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&printable=yes#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li></ul>
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<p><a name="Brief_history_of_popular_initiative" id="Brief_history_of_popular_initiative"></a></p>
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Brief history of popular initiative">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Brief history of popular initiative</span></h2>
<p>The initiative is only available in a certain minority of jurisdictions. It was included in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Federal_Constitution" title="Swiss Federal Constitution">Swiss Federal Constitution</a>
in 1891, permitting a certain number of citizens (currently 100,000) to
make a request to amend a constitutional article, or even to introduce
a new article into the constitution. Right of initiative is also used
at the cantonal and communal level in Switzerland; many cantons allow
initiatives to enact regular non-constitutional law, but the federal
system does not. If the necessary number of supporters is reached, the
initiative will be put to a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendum" title="Referendum">referendum</a>
about two or three years later; the delay helps prevent short-term
political moods to introduce themselves into the constitution. The
parliament and government will both issue their official opinions on
whether they recommend voting for or against the proposed amendment,
and these opinions will be printed on the ballot. The parliament may
also pass an alternative amendment suggestion which will also be
included on the ballot; in this case, the voters cast two votes, one
for whether or not they want an amendment, and one for which one they
want, the original one from the initiative or the one introduced in
parliament, in case a majority decides for amending. A citizen-proposed
change to the constitution in Switzerland at the national level needs
to achieve both a majority of the national popular vote and a majority
of the canton-wide vote in more than half of the cantons to pass. The
vast majority of national initiatives introduced since 1891 have failed
to receive voter support.</p>
<p>Provision for the initiative was included in the 1922 constitution of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Free_State" title="Irish Free State">Irish Free State</a>, but was hastily abolished when republicans organised a drive to instigate a vote that would abolish the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_Allegiance_%28Ireland%29" title="Oath of Allegiance (Ireland)">Oath of Allegiance</a>. The initiative also formed part of the 1920 constitution of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonia" title="Estonia">Estonia</a>.</p>
<p><a name="Initiative_in_the_United_States" id="Initiative_in_the_United_States"></a></p>
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Initiative in the United States">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Initiative in the United States</span></h2>
<p>In the United States the initiative is in use, at the level of state government, in 24 states and the District of Columbia <a href="http://www.iandrinstitute.org/statewide_i&r.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.iandrinstitute.org/statewide_i&r.htm" rel="nofollow">[1]</a>, and is also in common use at the local and city government level. The initiative has been recognized in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States">US</a> since at least 1777 when provision was made for it by the first constitution of Georgia.</p>
<p>The modern U.S. system of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiative_and_referendum" title="Initiative and referendum">initiative and referendum</a> originated in the state of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota" title="South Dakota">South Dakota</a>. South Dakota adopted <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiative_and_referendum" title="Initiative and referendum">initiative and referendum</a>
in 1898 by a vote of 23,816 to 16,483. South Dakota is also the only
state to have the idea develop on home soil without knowledge of the
Swiss measure<sup class="noprint Template-Fact"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources since October 2008" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</span></sup>. Oregon was the second state to adopt, and did so in 1902, when the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Legislative_Assembly" title="Oregon Legislative Assembly">state's legislators</a>
adopted it by an overwhelming majority. The "Oregon System", as it was
at first known, subsequently spread to many other states, and became
one of the signature reforms of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Era" title="Progressive Era">Progressive Era</a> (1890s-1920s). Well known U.S. initiatives include various measures adopted by voters in states such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado" title="Colorado">Colorado</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington" title="Washington">Washington</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon" title="Oregon">Oregon</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California" title="California">California</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts" title="Massachusetts">Massachusetts</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska" title="Alaska">Alaska</a>.</p>
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<p>The first attempt to get <b>National</b> ballot initiatives occurred
in 1907 when House Joint Resolution 44 was introduced by Rep. Elmer
Fulton of Oklahoma. In 1977, both the Abourezk-Hatfield (National Voter
Initiative) and Jagt Resolutions never got out of committee. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senator_Mike_Gravel" title="Senator Mike Gravel" class="mw-redirect">Senator Mike Gravel</a> was part of that effort. Gravel since discovered a (controversial) method to get a new proposal, the <a href="http://ni4d.us/" class="external text" title="http://ni4d.us" rel="nofollow">National Initiative for Democracy</a>, into the Constitution without asking Congress. Registered U.S. voters can now vote at <a href="http://vote.org/" class="external free" title="http://Vote.org" rel="nofollow">http://Vote.org</a> to ratify the National Initiative, much as citizens-not the existing 13 State Legislatures-ratified the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution" title="Constitution">Constitution</a> at the Constitutional conclusion.</p>
<p><a name="Popular_initiatives_in_the_European_Union" id="Popular_initiatives_in_the_European_Union"></a></p>
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Popular initiatives in the European Union">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Popular initiatives in the European Union</span></h2>
<p>The rejected <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_establishing_a_Constitution_for_Europe#Parliamentary_power_and_transparency" title="Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe">Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe</a>
(TCE) included a limited indirect initiative right (Article I-46(4)).
The proposal was that 1,000,000 citizens, from a minimal numbers of
different member states, could invite the executive body of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a> (EU), the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commission" title="European Commission">European Commission</a>,
to consider any proposal "on matters where citizens consider that a
legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the
Constitution." The precise mechanism had not been agreed upon. Critics
underlined the weakness of this right of initiative, which did not
ultimately entail any vote or referendum.</p>
<p>In any case, one can make a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petition" title="Petition">petition</a> to the European Parliament <sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&printable=yes#cite_note-1" title=""><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></a></sup></p>
<p><a name="France" id="France"></a></p>
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: France">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">France</span></h3>
<p>A restricted, local, indirect initiative was introduced on 28 March 2003 in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Constitution" title="French Constitution" class="mw-redirect">French Constitution</a> in the frame of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralization" title="Decentralization">decentralization</a> laws (article 72-1, <i>référendum d'initiative locale</i>.) However, it is only the initiative to propose to the local assembly (<i>collectivité territoriale</i>)
the inscription of a subject to the order of the day. The local
assembly then takes the decision to submit, or not, the question to
popular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendum" title="Referendum">referendum</a>.</p>
<p><a name="References" id="References"></a></p>
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: References">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">References</span></h2>
<div class="references-small">
<ol class="references"><li id="cite_note-0"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&printable=yes#cite_ref-0" title="">^</a></b> French specialist of Constitutional law, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Olivier_Duhamel&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Olivier Duhamel (page does not exist)">Olivier Duhamel</a>, speaks of an <i>initiative minoritaire</i> in <i>Droit constitutionnel</i> (1994), tome 2 <i>Les Démocraties</i>, 3×10<sup>{{{1}}}</sup> édition, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%C3%89ditions_du_Seuil&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Éditions du Seuil (page does not exist)">Éditions du Seuil</a>, coll. « Points / Essais » nº 414, Paris, 2000 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/2020389827" class="internal">ISBN 2-02-038982-7</a> p. 234–235</li><li id="cite_note-1"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&printable=yes#cite_ref-1" title="">^</a></b> <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/staticDisplay.do?id=49&pageRank=3&language=en" class="external text" title="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/staticDisplay.do?id=49&pageRank=3&language=en" rel="nofollow">Parliament : Petitions</a></li></ol>
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<p><a name="See_also" id="See_also"></a></p>
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">See also</span></h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_measure" title="Bond measure">Bond measure</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_democracy_%28history_in_the_United_States%29" title="Direct democracy (history in the United States)" class="mw-redirect">Direct democracy (history in the United States)</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiative_and_referendum" title="Initiative and referendum">Initiative and referendum</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_politics-related_topics" title="List of politics-related topics">List of politics-related topics</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Arizona_ballot_propositions" title="List of Arizona ballot propositions">List of Arizona ballot propositions</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_California_ballot_propositions" title="List of California ballot propositions">List of California ballot propositions</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Colorado_ballot_measures" title="List of Colorado ballot measures">List of Colorado ballot measures</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Oregon_ballot_measures" title="List of Oregon ballot measures">List of Oregon ballot measures</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Washington_initiatives" title="List of Washington initiatives">List of Washington initiatives</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ombudsman" title="Ombudsman">Ombudsman</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recall_election" title="Recall election">Recall election</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendum" title="Referendum">Referendum</a></li></ul>
<p><a name="External_links" id="External_links"></a></p>
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Initiative&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">External links</span></h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://c2d.unige.ch/" class="external text" title="http://c2d.unige.ch" rel="nofollow">The Research Centre on Direct Democracy</a></li><li><a href="http://vote.org/" class="external text" title="http://vote.org" rel="nofollow">Presidential Candidate & Senator Mike Gravel's National (ballot) Initiative for Democracy</a></li><li><a href="http://www.our-say.org/" class="external text" title="http://www.our-say.org" rel="nofollow">OUR SAY - British campaign for Citizens' Initiatives</a></li><li><a href="http://www.iniref.org/" class="external text" title="http://www.iniref.org/" rel="nofollow">I&R Campaign for Direct Democracy in Britain</a></li><li><a href="http://www.iandrinstitute.org/" class="external text" title="http://www.iandrinstitute.org/" rel="nofollow">Initiative and Referendum Institute</a></li><li><a href="http://www.iri-europe.org/" class="external text" title="http://www.iri-europe.org" rel="nofollow">IRI-Europe</a></li><li><a href="http://ni4d.us/" class="external text" title="http://ni4d.us/" rel="nofollow">National Initiative for Democracy</a></li><li><a href="http://www.ncsl.org/programs/legman/elect/dbintro.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.ncsl.org/programs/legman/elect/dbintro.htm" rel="nofollow">NCSL Ballot Measures Database</a></li></ul>
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