INITIATIVE

INITIATIVE, the process by which citizens, rather than legislators, propose statutes or constitutional amendments and place them before voters for approval. The initiative is not applicable at the federal level because the U.S. Constitution vests all national legislative powers in Congress, but by 2001 twenty-four states and the District of Columbia allowed the process in some form. All jurisdictions require the proponent to gather signatures from state residents, usually 5 to 10 percent of the electorate, supporting a vote on the issue, and some regulate the nature or wording of the issue. Where the direct initiative is employed, the proposition goes directly on the ballot. In states with an indirect initiative, the proposal must be submitted first to the legislature, which may adopt it or send it to the voters, possibly with modifications.

The initiative grew out of the popular disenchantment with state legislatures that gave rise to the Populist and Progressive movements in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Reformers, angered by the influence of big business on government and what they saw as unresponsiveness and corruption among elected representatives, sought to restore "direct democracy" and allow the people to participate in policymaking and hold politicians accountable. From 1898 to 1918, nineteen states, beginning with South Dakota, provided for the initiative, and the process was one element of the Progressive Party platform of presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt in 1912.

From its first actual use in Oregon in 1904 until 2001, approximately 2,000 initiatives have appeared on state ballots, and voters approved about 40 percent of them. Initiative use is something of a regional phenomenon, as six states alone account for nearly two-thirds of its use—Oregon, California, Colorado, North Dakota, Arizona, and Washington, in that order. New or relatively young western states facing problems of economic development and political discontent were more likely to adopt the process, while strong political parties often blocked it in the East and South. There have been three periods of greatest use of the device: the 1910s, during the Progressive era; the 1930s, during the Great Depression and New Deal; and in the last two decades of the twentieth century. In all three periods, strong social movements arose questioning the ability of government to provide for public needs and calling for more democratic or populist reforms. Among recent initiative propositions there have been questions on taxation, term limits for elected officials, and public morality issues such as gambling, abortion, and gun control.

Advocates of the initiative argue that it represents a genuine forum for democratic participation in policy-making, operates as a safety valve for political discontent, and helps shape the agenda of public officials. Skeptics charge that it circumvents the more deliberative legislative process and allows well-organized and well-funded special interests to take advantage of impassioned, even irresponsible, public opinion, possibly to the detriment of minority groups. There is no clear correlation between the influence of money or the media and the outcome of a proposition, though initiative campaigns increasingly rely on professional polling and marketing services rather than on grassroots volunteers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bowler, Shaun, Todd Donovan, and Caroline J. Tolbert, eds. Citizens as Legislators: Direct Democracy in the United States. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1998.

Cronin, Thomas E. Direct Democracy: The Politics of Initiative, Referendum, and Recall. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1989.

Ellis, Richard J. Democratic Delusions: The Initiative Process in America. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2002.

Jeffrey T.Coster

See alsoProposition 13 ; Proposition 187 ; Proposition 209 .

initiative the originating of a law or constitutional amendment by popular petition. It is intended to allow the electorate to initiate legislation independently of the legislature. This direct form of legislation, together with the referendum , was known in Greece and other early democracies. It is practiced in Switzerland. In the United States the initiative was recognized as early as 1777 in the first constitution of Georgia. It was subsequently adopted by a number of states and may apply also on local and city government levels. There are two kinds of initiative, direct and indirect. In both kinds of initiative a certain number of signatures (usually from 5% to 15% of the electorate in the district concerned) must appear on the petition that proposes the constitutional amendment or legislation. In direct initiative the proposed law is voted on in the next election, or in a special election, after a petition with the required number of signatures has been filed with state or local officials. In indirect initiative the petition goes directly to the legislature and reaches the people only if the legislature fails to enact it into law. In the 1990s ballot initiatives became increasingly popular as various interest groups sought to win approval of measures they supported.

Bibliography: See P. Schrag, Paradise Lost (1999).

in·i·ti·a·tive / iˈnish(ē)ətiv/ • n. 1. the ability to assess and initiate things independently: use your initiative, imagination, and common sense. 2. [in sing.] the power or opportunity to act or take charge before others do: we have lost the initiative and allowed our opponents to dictate the subject. 3. an act or strategy intended to resolve a difficulty or improve a situation; a fresh approach to something: a new initiative against car crime. ∎  a proposal made by one nation to another in an attempt to improve relations: diplomatic initiatives to end the war | a Middle East peace initiative. 4. (the initiative) (esp. in some U.S. states and Switzerland) the right of citizens outside the legislature to originate legislation. PHRASES: on one's own initiative without being prompted by others. take (or seize) the initiative be the first to take action in a particular situation: antihunting groups have seized the initiative in the dispute.

INITIATIVE

A process of a participatory democracy that empowers the people to propose legislation and to enact or reject the laws at the polls independent of the lawmaking power of the governing body.

The purpose of an initiative, which is a type of election commenced and carried out by the people, is to permit the electorate to resolve questions where their elected representatives fail to do so or refuse to proceed with a change that the public desires.