Citizens in Charge

Join us on Saturday, February 28th from 2:00 - 3:30 pm EST at a unique interactive event during CPAC entitled “Love Taking Charge?: The Common Sense Tool for Kickin’ * One State at a Time.” (View on FaceBook)

A powerful tool for all Americans to create citizen led reform is the ballot initiative and referendum (I&R) process.

Used by citizens from all ideological points of view across the nation, I&R, empowers the voters to improve their community.

Earlier this month Citizens in Charge sent out an action alert about Virginia HB 2642 which contained a provision that would have banned payment of petition circulators by signature. A similar ban in Ohio was struck down as unconstitutional by the 6th Circuit Court of appeals, and the Supreme Court denied the state’s appeal in this case. Thanks to activists taking charge by standing up and informing legislators of the constitutional problems associated with the ban, the provision was struck from the bill by a Senate committee earlier this week.

Today CNBC editor Rick Santelli reporting from the floor of the CBOE in Chicago started discussing economic stimulus. Santelli, outraged on President Obama’s economic package, was advocating for initiatives and referendums and a Chicago “Tea Party”.

Santelli called out President Obama administration saying instead of spending the people’s money, the President should have a national referendum, on the internet, and put the stimulus to a vote by the citizens. On CNBC Rick Santelli said:

Oklahoma’s initiative requires the highest number of signatures be collected in the second shortest time period in the country, making it the hardest state process to use. The process is so restricted that only two citizen initiatives have made it on the ballot in the last ten years!

A few weeks back we sent out an Action Alert about a bill in the Maine House that would require petition circulators to be registered voters. CICF sent a letter to the bill’s sponsor and the rest of the state legislature informing them that requiring circulators to be registered voters violates the First Amendment. We then worked with local Maine activists to get testimony against the bill in the upcoming hearing.

Empowering citizen activism is at the core of what Citizens in Charge Foundation is trying to do.

Today, Congressman Ron Paul (TX-14) offered this statement about the work of Citizens in Charge Foundation, and its president, Paul Jacob:

Citizens in Charge Foundation is pleased to announce that Dick Heller, plaintiff in the recent Supreme Court case, District of Columbia v. Heller, will be attending Government Reform at the Hands of the People, a citizens’ forum sponsored by Citizens in Charge Foundation.

Mr. Heller will be taking part in the panel discussion, “Enacting Real Change: Citizen-Led Reform Efforts”

This Thursday, February 5, Citizens in Charge Foundation will be hosting a forum to discuss how citizens can create real change in their local communities.

The event, “Government Reform at the Hands of the People: A Citizens’ Forum” brings together speakers from diverse background to focus on how average Americans can create citizen-led reforms to enact change using the ballot initiative and referendum process.

Last Thursday's event celebrating the freeing of the "Oklahoma 3" was nothing short of a wild success.

Over 60 people came out to greet Citizens in Charge Foundation president, Paul Jacob, along with Senator Mike Gravel and others.

You’re cordially invited…

Shredding the Constitution Declared” Emergency in Maine”: State Rep”s anti-initiative legislation is facially unconstitutional

Citizens in Charge Foundation, a national ballot initiative rights group, in an open letter called on Maine State Representative Mark Bryant (D) to withdraw his recently introduced “emergency” legislation, LD 28, which would unconstitutionally restrict citizen participation in ballot initiatives in the state.

Along with Oklahomans for Initiative Rights (OIR), Citizens in Charge Foundation sponsored &qot;Reforming the Reform Process: How to Restore Oklahoma’s Initiative,&qot; a public seminar in Oklahoma City on November 15. The seminar brought together state and national experts on I&R, activists, political figures and scholars to discuss ways to make Oklahoma’s I&R process more usable.

Oklahoma’s “Reforming the Reform Process” event is only one example of how Oklahomans are rolling up their sleeves to protect the once vibrant state initiative process. Oklahomans clearly see that the initiative process is the best tool available for reforming government and holding it accountable.