The process of initiative and referendum is critical if we are to shift power back into the hands of ordinary citizens. For years, politicians and special interests have attacked the citizen initiative and referendum process with impunity. Their goal: to undermine the most powerful tool citizens possess for restoring accountable government. Now, through the Citizens in Charge Foundation, the people are fighting to protect their rights at the ballot box.
Sky-high public support for initiative and referendum promises numerous opportunities to protect and expand the process. Consequently, Citizens in Charge Foundation is building a state-by-state grassroots network across the country, which educates voters on attempts to restrict their First Amendment rights and mobilizes the reservoir of public opposition against these restrictions.
While voters are increasingly turning to initiatives to make needed reforms, elected officials often are seeking to impose limitations on the process.
Most restrictions placed on the citizen initiative process by state legislators are vulnerable to federal court challenge on First Amendment grounds. Citizens in Charge Foundation will launch a national campaign to roll-back unconstitutional provisions of state law holding back citizen use of initiatives, referendums and recalls.
As the only national organization dedicated to protecting the process, Citizens in Charge Foundation will triage the nation’s petition regulations to determine the most important challenges.