Citizens in Charge

We often talk on this blog about threats to the initiative and referendum process, but this recent article in the Colorado Independent illustrates more concretely what initiative rights proponents are up against.

House Speaker Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, introduced legislation on Tuesday designed to address abuses that plagued the ballot initiative process in Colorado last election season…

Given the attention petition fraud garnered last year in Colorado, the speaker’s new bill would seem a natural for bipartisan support. And in fact, in a break with the partisan showdowns that have characterized this session so far, House and Senate Minority Leaders Mike May and Josh Penry, respectively, have signed on as sponsors of the bill, as has Republican Rep. Amy Stephens of Monument…

The proposal language and petition signature threshold requirements for getting citizen-created statutory laws or constitutional amendments on Colorado’s ballot are some of the least constrained in the nation. That sense of ease to muddle with state law also brings with it a host of problems caused by well-meaning but uninformed citizens to carpetbagging activists market-testing the viability of national causes.

Last year complaints were filed with the secretary of state concerning the petition process for at least four of the state’s ballot initiative proposals, which in 2008 numbered well into the double digits. Fourteen initiatives made it onto the Colorado ballot, the longest ballot in the country.

There are a few key aspects of this article to note. First, initiative supporters likely would take issue with the author’s presumption that 14 initiatives on the ballot is a sign of a broken process. It seems equally reasonable that many Colorado citizens engaging in their political process is actually a very positive result.

Second, supporters of initiative and referendum are likely to point out that special interest money can only help to get measures on the ballot, not ensure desired outcomes. This is because only voters can enact initiatives into law. It seems reasonable that it’s easier for private interests to influence unaccountable legislators than bribe the entire voting public.

Finally, it’s interesting that elected officials from both parties — while they disagree about most other issues — unite against an open and accessible initiative process. Supporters are likely to ask whether these lawmakers are looking out for citizens’ rights, or merely looking for ways to enhance their own law-making power. We’ll leave that question for you to decide.