Citizens in Charge

Citizens in Charge takes no position whatsoever on ballot measures - either from the people or the legislature - unless they relate to the initiative or referendum process. This November one of those initiatives is Arizona Prop. 109.

 

Earlier this week, we received a new advisory from the Ohio Secretary of State making those involved in the initiative & referendum process – from county officials to proponents and petition circulators – aware of the law in light of the Citizens in Charge, et al. v. Brunner ruling striking down Ohio’s unnecessarily draconian disclosure requirements on initiative petitions.

We are glad to see that the SoS is making officials statewide aware of this change. The CIC v Brunner case is an important one in working to protect citizen initiative rights.

A new statewide survey out from the Public Policy Institute of California asked California voters their opinions on a wide range of national and statewide political issues and candidates.

While Citizens in Charge works primarily on the rights of initiative and referendum, there is a third process that is important in ensuring citizen control of government. Citizens in eighteen states have the power of recall, whereby elected official can be removed from office before the expiration of their term. When citizens are dissatisfied with their elected officials, they can petition to have a recall election put on the ballot. Removal can be for malfeasance or in many jurisdictions for any action the recall language specifies.

(LAKE RIDGE, VA) – Today, Citizens in Charge Foundation, a national voter rights group focused on the ballot initiative and referendum process, presented former Connecticut State Legislator John Woodcock with the October 2010 Lilburne Award. John is being honored this month for his ongoing efforts to bring statewide initiative and referendum rights to the citizens of Connecticut.

Retired Arizona State University Law School Dean Paul Bender, who specializes in constitutional rights, and retired Arizona Chief Justice Stanley Feldman recently weighed in on Arizona Proposition 109. Both legal scholars found several problems with the initiative, ranging from opening up the state to lawsuits to taking away Arizonan’s ballot initiative rights, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

Bob Englehart of the Hartford Courant has a funny cartoon today. It shows California tied in a knot and says Connecticut voters reject calls for initiative rights because it was the initiative that got the Golden State all screwed up. It’s funny because it is just so wrong: Bob really should have done his homework before he penned it. If he had, he would know that California’s initiative process isn’t to blame for the state’s budget and governance woes.

A new Washington Poll released last week shows that nearly 3 voters out of 4 think the state’s initiative and referendum process have been a good thing for the state.  This comes on the heels of a Citizens in Charge/Citizens in Charge Foundation poll showing similar support for the process. You can see both polls below.

On Page 9 of the Washington Poll voters are asked the following question to 500 registered voters,

California Governor Schwarzenegger has for the second year in a row vetoed an attempt by the legislature to substantially raise the fee to file an initiative tenfold. In his veto message for AB 1832, the governor says:

San Francisco-based think tank Pacific Research institute adds to the debate over New America Foundation scholars Joe Matthews and Mark Paul’s new book “California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix It.”

Yesterday, Citizens in Charge Foundation sent out a joint press release with the Rio Grande Foundation highlighting the poll results of New Mexico voters on their support for initiative & referendum:

The National Taxpayers Union recently released their 2010 Ballot Guide that evaluates state and local measures on the ballot all across the country this November. Make sure to check it out.

John Woodcock and Connecticut Citizens for Ballot Initiative are trying to bring initiative & referendum rights to Connecticut citizens. John has an op-ed in today’s Hartford Courant that is worth a read:

Citizens in Charge President Paul Jacob will be on Liberty Watch Radio later this month to discuss opposition to Proposition 109 in Arizona.

Paul will be on October 31st at 1pm Mountain Standard Time for about a half hour.

On October 11, 1911 California became the tenth state to adopt a statewide initiative and referendum process. Since then it has come to be not only among the states with the highest usage of citizen ballot measures, but has often brought national attention to issues being debated by initiative.