National
Big Spring, TX citizens will sue the city council to protect their petition rights.
Via the Salt Lake Tribune, the AP is reporting that Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Ut.) is planning on introducing legislation that would put same-sex marriage on the D.C. ballot. This isn’t much of a surprise. Chaffetz has long warned that he’d try just about anything to head off same-sex marriage in the District, while also admitting that his chances for success were slim.
(LAKE RIDGE, VA) – Today, Citizens in Charge Foundation, a transpartisan national voter rights group focused on the ballot initiative and referendum process, presented The Citizen Power Campaign with the January 2010 John Lilburne Award. The group is being recognized for making the initiative process open & accessible to citizens by utilizing new technology in signature gathering campaigns.
Purpose
Purpose
Citizens in Charge Foundation has been or is currently involved in the following cases:
”¢Â   Funding of briefs in Citizens for Tax Reform v. Deters. Ohio’s ban on paying petition  circulators by the signature was struck down in 2008. The state’s appeal to the U.S.       Supreme Court was denied.
”¢Â   Amicus curiae brief on behalf of the Michigan Civil Rights institute in Operation Kings Dream v. Connerly, supporting the right of initiative proponents to intervene in initiative-related lawsuits.
Opponents of a bill that would allow gay marriage in D.C. want to put a measure on the ballot to let voters weigh in. Opponents filed paperwork with the Board of Elections and Ethics on Wednesday to try to put the referendum on the ballot. Previous similar attempts have been unsuccessful.
Collecting hundreds of thousands of signatures to place an initiative on the ballot is a tough task that may get easier in the future. A company in Silicon Valley recently unveiled a new smart-phone application that would allow a citizen to sign a petition electronically. Instead of signing a petition in a grocery store parking lot, a citizen could sign it in the comfort of their own home.
This has raised legal questions of course, and California state officials will need to figure out if signing a petition via phone complies with the law.
Late last year we noted that an initiative out in Denver, Colorado will be on the ballot this year to creat a UFO Commission to educate people about the possibility of extra-terrestrials. This initiative has gotten some press and the man behind the initiative is now calling on President Obama to “tear down the wall of UFO secrecy.”
What do you think should be done about this issue?
I just wanted to reflect on a few thoughts I had for next year, it being New Year’s Eve and all. 2010 looks to be an exciting year, and I too, am quite excited for what it will hold. I think that this coming year will be a great one for initiative & referendum rights. The nation is sick of both parties, the government and bureaucracy, and just want their voices to be heard.
Becoming a member of the Citizens in Charge Foundation team would be a great way to start off 2010. This next year we will be expanding our message and our programs and we need the help of passionate citizens like yourself. 2010 will be a great year to work on protecting and expanding initiative and referendum rights. Please consider joining us for a great year. Join Today!
Citizens in Charge Foundation would like to wish you and yours Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.
Those who wish to take away citizen rights are going to get a lump of coal in their stockings this evening.
Â
Theresa Amato is a public advocate and author who has worked for two decades for and with several nonprofit organizations to advance civic rights by training citizen advocates, promoting access to information, watchdogging government and corporate power, engaging in strategic philanthropy, and influencing public policy.