Poll
A June poll conducted by good-government groups found that although voters support bids for more transparency in the initiative proces they strongly oppose those that would give the Legislature more power.
In a recent poll 93% of respondents agreed that the names of petition signers should not be placed in a searchable database on the Internet. In several states organizations are trying to put the names of all people who signed a petition into a searchable database.
On our last survey we asked, “Do you think public officials should be able to weigh in on ballot initiatives?”
The results were pretty clear, 73% of respondents said Yes, government officials should make their positions known on important issues.
The question arose around story about Alaska’s Governor Palin. Critics were upset at her vocal support for some ballot measures in the state.
Here are some of the comments from the survey:
Recently news has focused on the battle over petitions and the intent of the voter.
Petition and petition circulators are hot button issues in states with the initiative and referendum process (I&R). Each year hundreds of petition gathers (a.k.a. petition circulators) collect thousands of signatures from voters on a large array of issues. And every year thousands are invalidated because of mistakes made by notary, the petition circulator or government official.
By now, most Americans have seen or heard of CNBC’s Rick Santelli and his on-air outburst stating “the government is promoting bad behavior” with the bailouts. (READ MORE) Even President Obama’s Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, invited the CNBC editor to a “decaf” coffee to discuss the issue.