Staff’s blog
As states around the country tackle redistricting based on the 2010 census, the new population numbers also make things harder for some initiative proponents.
From Ballot Box News:
Because the 2010 census shows that North Dakota’s population increased 4.7% compared to 2000…election law numerical requirements will now rise 4.7%, for the period covering the next ten years. North Dakota’s Secretary of State says the increase applies immediately, even to initiatives that are currently circulating.
Nebraskans’ petition rights have survived another legislative session. With the deadline to make it out of committee passed, no more legislation concerning the initiative process is pending.
(LAKE RIDGE, VA) – Today, Citizens in Charge Foundation, a national voter rights group focused on the ballot initiative and referendum process, presented Washington state senators Don Benton and Pam Roach with the March 2011 John Lilburne Award for their outstanding work in successfully defeating Senate Bill 5297, legislation that would have severely restricted Washington’s initiative process.
“Good riddance to SB 5297, which would have been a disaster for Washington’s initiative process,” said Citizens in Charge Foundation President Paul Jacob. “Both Senator Don Benton and Senator Pam Roach deserve a ton of the credit for defeating it.”
You may recall our previous stories and articles on the events transpiring in Boulder City, Nevada. Citizens there have been repeatedly sued by their own city council…for the horrible act of collecting signatures and putting measures on the ballot for a vote.
Citizens decided to take to the streets to make their displeasure known:
The Massachusetts Legislature is currently working to double the number of signatures citizens would need to place a measure on the ballot. Citizens in Charge President Paul Jacob sent a letter to each Massachusetts Senator and Representative calling on them to oppose this restriction on citizen rights:
Maryland’s Court of Appeals decided Tuesday that petition signatures cannot be disqualified solely because they are illegible. The majority opinion of the state’s highest court says,
We hold that a signature on a petition for referendum is but one component of the voter’s identity that is to be considered in the validation process… An illegible signature, on its own, does not preclude validation.
As members of the Florida Senate Rules Subcomittee voted in favor of stripping away state petition rights by placing severe burdens on signature collection, Senator Paula Dockery stood up for the people, saying:
“We’re making it easier for the Legislature and harder for citizens to amend their constitution,” Dockery said. “And I fundamentally disagree with that premise.”
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Utah has suddenly exploded with initiative & referendum related news. You may recall last year we held a joint press conference with Utahns for Ethical Government as they attempted to defend their right to put a measure on the ballot. They are still trying to get their ethics commission measure on the ballot and it seems that the Utah Legislature and Governor are doing everything they can to stop it. To the courts we go:
Citizens in Charge Foundation and Citizens in Charge want to set the record straight with regards to our February 2011 Lilburne Award Winners: Tracy and Linda Strickland.
It seems there was some confusion on the part of one Boulder City resident about the nature of the award and how and why we give it. You can view his blog post here.
Today, Citizens in Charge Foundation president Paul Jacob sent the following letter to the author of the blog post:
Mr. Stubbs,
For those of you who are Irish and those of you who are not, Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
I haven’t been able to find anything about St Patrick’s day that’s related to initiative & referendum yet, but if you know of anything feel free to pass it along.
Eirinn go Brach!
Citizens in Charge has a new video up on our YouTube channel. We talked with some of our board members about why they support citizen initiative rights and Citizens in Charge.
It’s the greatest municipal recall in US history, and the most significant recall election since California voters ousted former governor Gray Davis in 2003. An astounding 88 percent of voters said Tuesday that they wanted to recall Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez from office. According to the New York Times, voters were angry that the Republican mayor of America’s ninth most populous county raised taxes and increased the salaries of his aids at the height of the recession.
Here’s a piece from the Washington Examiner:
An identical bill has was vetoed in 2006 and 2009 but that won’t stop state Sen. Corbett from attacking California petition proponents. The California Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday, March 15, on SB 168, an attempt to ban paying petition circulators by the signature. Such bans have been found unconstitutional in several states, and most recently a federal judge in Colorado found that state’s ban likely to be struck down.
Once again the Missouri State Senate has decided it is smarter than the voters:
The Missouri state Senate’s vote to overturn the voter-approved referendum controlling puppy mills is just the latest in a series of legislative votes overturning measures approved by voters state-wide. Some see a war by rural lawmakers against St. Louis and Kansas City; others see a battle between the conservative legislature and more moderate and liberal voters; and most lawmakers see nothing wrong with it.