For the first negative, there has to be an acknowledgment that the importance of the initiative process could change with passage of time. As briefly mentioned in “March of the Plebiscites”, very few initiatives were proposed and passed the voters between the 1940s to the 1970s. Of those that were, many dealt with minor issues such as the regulation of fishing. For the second negative, special interests have become the primary source for state propositions. Using Proposition 67 as an example, it was environmental groups and plastic bag manufactures that dominated the support and opposition and not individual citizens that were concerned about their own state. But this not to say the system in terrible for the voters. If the voters properly educate themselves on the proposition and create or maintain ties with special interest groups, they could instead become the main initiators of the process. And that is the beauty of direct democracy. Regardless of the use of the initiative process or the influence of special interests, the power of the vote would always remain in the hands of the people. With the power of the vote, come the power to shape
For the first negative, there has to be an acknowledgment that the importance of the initiative process could change with passage of time. As briefly mentioned in “March of the Plebiscites”, very few initiatives were proposed and passed the voters between the 1940s to the 1970s. Of those that were, many dealt with minor issues such as the regulation of fishing. For the second negative, special interests have become the primary source for state propositions. Using Proposition 67 as an example, it was environmental groups and plastic bag manufactures that dominated the support and opposition and not individual citizens that were concerned about their own state. But this not to say the system in terrible for the voters. If the voters properly educate themselves on the proposition and create or maintain ties with special interest groups, they could instead become the main initiators of the process. And that is the beauty of direct democracy. Regardless of the use of the initiative process or the influence of special interests, the power of the vote would always remain in the hands of the people. With the power of the vote, come the power to shape