State Feed: International

Seoul Mayor Steps Down After Losing School Lunch Referendum

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:06:31 -0400

A referendum this week on a plan to limit school lunches in schools in South Korea’s capital city has led to the resignation of the city’s mayor and provided a preview for broader political battles in national elections next year. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon had pledged to step down if voters rejected his proposal to provide free meals to only poor school children in the capital, instead of all students.

New Facebook Page

Staff — Tue, 17 May 2011 18:26:24 -0400

Today we created our new Citizens in Charge Facebook page. The Citizens in Charge Foundation group is scheduled to be archived by Facebook for reasons only Mark Zuckerberg knows. So, before it disappears please head over to our new page an “like” it. It will be the same as our old page, with regular news updates, pictures, and event information.

“LIKE” us HERE.

UK: Votes being tallied up in yesterday's referendum

Fri, 06 May 2011 11:48:09 -0400

Counting has started in the national referendum on whether to change the electoral system to the Alternative Vote process. As the count began, initial figures showed turnout across the UK ranged from 35.4% to 50.7%. Senior Lib Dems have already conceded they are unlikely to win the vote, which was a key plank of their coalition demands. A defeat will be another blow after a devastating round of local election results which were the party’s worst since the 80s.

UK: First national referendum in 36 years

Thu, 05 May 2011 14:34:39 -0400

Forty million people will get the chance to support an historic change to the British voting system today. “Super Thursday” will see the UK’s first nationwide referendum for 36 years, as well as the customary elections to English local authorities, the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland’s Assembly and councils.

Read the story from The Independent

God Save the Queen

Staff — Thu, 05 May 2011 11:12:56 -0400

It seems the excitement in the UK never ends. Last week? Royal wedding. This week? Their first national referendum vote in nearly 4 decades.

The big referendum will determine what style of elections they use to elect members of parliament. From The Independent:

Forty million people will get the chance to support an historic change to the British voting system today.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Staff — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:11:41 -0400

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!

U.S. Conference on Initiative & Referendum DVD Series Now Available!

Staff — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:12:22 -0500

If you weren’t able to make it to the 2010 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy and U.S. Conference on I&R last summer in San Francisco but still want to hear all the great speakers and debate, now is your chance.

The 8 part DVD series is available for purchase here.

Slovenia: Group would like to take away MPs referendum rights

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:22:22 -0500

Coalition deputy groups and Public Administration Minister Irma Pavlinic Krebs reached on Monday an agreement on planned changes to referendum legislation. Changes would strip deputies of the right to file for a ballot, there would be a quorum needed for the validity of the referendum and human rights issues could not be put up for vote.

Read the story from the Slovenian Press Agency

Switzerland: Gun measure fails at ballot box

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 11:19:54 -0500

Final results showed just over 56 per cent of votes had been cast against the initiative which sought to ban army-issue guns from the home. A majority of cantons voted against the initiative. Support came from several, mainly urban regions including Geneva, Basel and Zurich. Opposition was strongest in rural areas in eastern and central Switzerland as well as in the southern Italian-speaking canton of Ticino.

Read the story from Swiss Info

Switzerland: National vote upcoming on weapons storage

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:33:54 -0500

Swiss politicians are already preparing for the next round of votes on February 13. On the nationwide ballot just one item will be put to a vote—the so-called initiative against armed violence. It calls for soldiers to store their service weapons at an armoury rather than keeping them at home.

Read the story from World Radio Switzerland

Bad Omen? EU Officials Reject First-Ever European Citizen's Initiative, Toss 1M Sigs

Staff — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:12:40 -0500

The first petition submitted to the EU Commission under the new European Citizen’s Initiative process has been rejected by officials on procedural grounds. Signed by 1.03 million voters, the petition would have banned genetically modified - also known as GM -foods until they have been scientifically tested for safety and sustainability.

VIDEO: Two Years of Citizen Rights Activism

Staff — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:36:33 -0500

As we look to more success in 2011, here’s a look at some of what we’ve accomplished over the last two years. Of course we couldn’t have done it without your help.

European Parliament Moves to Expand European Citizen Initiative Process

Staff — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 11:32:41 -0500

It’s something we don’t see much here in America: politicians voting to expand initiative rights. The European Citizens’ Initiative is a new instrument introduced by the Lisbon Treaty whereby one million citizens may ask the European Commission to propose a new EU law. Yesterday the Constitutional Affairs Committee voted to make it easier to sign a petition and lowered the threshold of member states needed to qualify a measure. You can read more here.

Citizens in Charge Foundation Announces 2011 Spring Internship Opportunities!

AmandaKathryn — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:43:08 -0500

Our partner organization Citizens In Charge Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is currently accepting applications for 2011 internships. We are looking for undergraduates, grad students and recent grads from all majors as well as law students.

Recall Can Be a Powerful Tool for Citizens

Staff — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:29:11 -0400

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.

Switzerland: Deportation initiative brings minister to rural area to launch counter-initiative

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:57:23 -0400

It’s not every day a cabinet minister visits rural canton Fribourg, so when Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf attended a public debate in Wünnewil the locals turned out in force. The justice minister was there to launch the government’s counter-initiative to a rightwing proposal to tighten the rules on the deportation of criminal foreigners. A nationwide vote on the issue takes place on November 28.

Read the story from Swiss Info

VIDEO: U.S. Conference on I&R - An Overview

Staff — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:21:44 -0400

I just posted a new video on our YouTube Channel; it’s a quick overview of some of the panels and topics discussed at the U.S. Conference on I&R out in San Francisco in July and August.

Check it out here.

Turkey: Results of Sunday referendum

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:02:08 -0400

Turkish State Minister & Chief Negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis said on Monday that everybody was pleased with the result of Sunday’s referendum (on constitutional amendments), and this was a turning point for Turkey. Giving a break from Council of Ministers meeting to speak with 13 foreign journalists from EU countries, Bagis said that they were currently assessing the referendum results in the Council of Ministers meeting.

Paul Jacob on "Engaging Democracy" With Eric O'Keefe

Staff — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:10:28 -0400

Citizens in Charge President Paul Jacob sat down with Eric O’Keefe from Sam Adams Alliance while out in San Francisco earlier this month to talk about the initiative & referendum process and citizen rights.

Sam Adams Alliance posted the podcast of it last night on their website. It’s a good interview and you should definitely check it out here.

Capitol Ideas: Direct Democracy Enjoys Widespread Support

Staff — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:45:47 -0400

Audrey Wall from the Council of State Governments talks about the poll recently conducted by Citizens in Charge Foundation, as well as the success of the 2010 US Conference on Initiative & Referendum and the 2010 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy.