History
Three times in the last century, Minnesotans voted on a measure to
establish a statewide process of initiative and referendum and each time
a majority favored the process. But that alone was not been enough to
enact initiative and referendum in the state.
In 1897 the Minnesota Legislature unintentionally frustrated the
initiative process, as well as a great many future proposals to amend the
state’s constitution, by proposing a supermajority requirement for ratifying
amendments to the constitution.