Citizens Initiatives

[Dennis Biancuzzo]

Congress should implement a system for national citizen initiatives, similar to the citizen initiatives available in California and other states. This was, to my knowledge, first proposed by Senator Mike Gravel in his "Philadelphia II" proposal. Such a system allows for a measure of direct democracy when our representatives in Congress fail to carry out the will of the people. In order to prevent big money interests from dominating the system, the implementing legislation must provide safeguards against corporate advertising for or against any initiative

[Chris Wheeler]

This idea has occurred to me as well so I'd be glad to hear a discussion of any pros or cons. On it's face it seems to be in good measure a dose of democracy very much needed.

[Dennis Biancuzzo]

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.


Even for citizen-initiated referenda, the rules are spelled out by the law. It is important that they are clear and transparent, with specific administrative responsibilities assigned to the proper authorities, be it the president, a legislative committee, an agency, or an elections’ office.

Laws governing citizen initiatives generally include as a first step, the provision to verify the legality or constitutionality of the proposal. It is crucial at this stage that government officials interact with the initiators of the proposal in fairness and good faith, to avoid any appearance of political manoeuvring.

Of course, even before that, it is essential that there is public knowledge about the direct democracy tool and how to initiate it.

Step-by-step guidelines for citizen initiatives:


The idea : It takes a group of citizens or an organization that wants to address a certain social or political problem to formulate a proposal, be it for an entirely new policy or legislative idea or in reaction to a government law. This non-official phase requires numerous meetings and discussion of strategies, and agreement on the proposal and question to be put forward.

The organization: In order to register a citizen-initiated vote, most countries require that concerned citizens create a designated committee (The Peoples Congress), which needs to fulfill certain conditions. It is important because this group of individuals or organization will be the legal body responsible for dealing with the authorities and other actors during subsequent steps.

The proposal : The committee must agree on a text (with translations, as needed) of the proposal. One of the pre-conditions for registering a citizen-initiated proposal in most jurisdictions is the formulation of a legally and/or constitutionally acceptable text for the proposal and the whole process to follow, with the relevant authorities. In addition to the proposed legal text, the committee must also agree on a title for the proposal that clearly conveys its political purpose.

Registration: Formal registration of the proposal with the authorities usually also involves the formal registration of the designated committee, thereby assigning it certain duties and rights. Such a step brings new responsibilities, including political ones.

Publication: Signature gathering officially begins after the publication of the proposal in an official gazette.

The signature-gathering process: It has to consider certain rules, options and limitations. Signature by hand is still the most common method to formally support a proposal. In some countries, it is explicitly forbidden to use paid signature gatherers for this work.

Submission of signatures : Submitting sufficient number of signatures is a major step in each citizen-initiated procedure as it signals the point at which the issue of the few becomes an issue of the many. At this moment, the initiative committee must be sure that the required threshold of signatures (and any additional requirements) has been met.

Validation: The authorities check the eligibility and validity of the delivered signatures. Different methods of validation are used. In some jurisdictions, a sampling procedure is used to validate signatures while in others, every signature must be checked.

Verification : After fulfilling the validity check, the demand may be verified and be deemed qualified for the vote. For the demand committee, this means a new and even more challenging role, as it will have to interact with authorities, media, and critics of their proposal in a more serious way than before verification. A verified initiative sometimes also qualifies for additional support and services provided by the authorities.

Legal or constitutional checks by designated authorities may take place at several points during the process. These checks may occur after registration, after the required number of citizen signatures are collected, prior to a citizen vote, or after an initiative is passed.

Interaction: Once the proposal becomes an “official” matter, the legislative or governmental body may have the right to put an alternative proposal on the ballot and to give recommendations. As an element of interaction, the designated committee may have the right to withdraw their initiative in order to find a compromise
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Certification: It is now up to the specified authority to determine that the citizen- initiated referendum has qualified for a ballot decision in terms of time, final rules, campaign assistance etc.
Campaign : Campaign regulations for free and fair procedures may be applicable. This step is critical in ensuring the public is sufficiently well-informed to make a free and fair decision.
Voting: Voting may take different forms such as ballot, remote and e-voting and can span a period of several days or weeks. During the voting phase, specific rules may apply for the various actors. These rules can include a prohibition of all campaigning activities during a specified time, typically in the final 24 or 48 hours before the commencement of voting.

Appeal: In the case of irregularities brought forward by the committee or the authorities, an appeal procedure may become necessary. Otherwise, the decision of voters is final.
Implementation: To implement the voters’ decision and to deal with any possible hurdles, the designated committee may need to remain active. The process of implementing the initiative proposal may be lengthy with the main responsibility for implementation vested with the authorities.

[Dennis Biancuzzo]

I believe on a National Level, the citizens should be given the right during the presidential election to introduce Citizens Initiatives for voting during the general election.

The top 4 or 5 Citizens Initiatives voted on by the people, should be top priority for that President and congress to address passing prior to introducing any other legislation.

[John Mulkins]

Dennis and Chris. This is a very good idea and one perhaps the steering committee, when it has evolved, takes up as a recommendation for the election reform agenda, or policy-making agenda. Our friend Kelly Gerling and others will be very keen to support such a proposal I think, so right on! I think you may be on to something which can be brought into the mix. I just caution that it should pass through the steering committee and be approved by the executive committee like any and all changes.