State Public Opinion and Participation

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• State Public Opinion and Participation

Reading SGB (Ch. 4), S (5-6, 8) Erikson,
Wright, McIver (1987)
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Direct Democracy in the States

• Constitutional Law (Ch. 3)

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Constitutional Law (Ch. 3)
• Statutory Law (Ch. 4)

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives
• Placed on the ballot by citizen petition

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives
• Placed on the ballot by citizen petition
• Ratified by popular vote

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives
• Placed on the ballot by citizen petition
• Ratified by popular vote
• 18 states allow constitutional initiative

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives
• Placed on the ballot by citizen petition
• Ratified by popular vote
• 18 states allow constitutional initiative
• 22 states allow statutory initiative

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives
• Placed on the ballot by citizen petition
• Ratified by popular vote
• 18 states allow constitutional initiative
• 22 states allow statutory initiative
• 24 states allow one or the other

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives
• States vary in ballot access requirements

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives
• States vary in ballot access requirements
• Subject matter

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives
• States vary in ballot access requirements
• Subject matter
• Length of qualifying period
• MO,UT (gt1year)
• OR (90 days)

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives
• States vary in ballot access requirements
• Subject matter
• Length of qualifying period
• MO,UT (gt1year)
• OR (90 days)
• Geographic restrictions (WY 2/3 of counties)

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives
• States vary in ballot access requirements
• Subject matter
• Length of qualifying period
• MO,UT (gt1year)
• OR (90 days)
• Geographic restrictions (WY 2/3 of counties)
• Signature requirements (MA 3 - AZ15)

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives
• Direct Initiatives

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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives
• Direct Initiative

Voters Ratify at Polls
Citizen Petition
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Direct Democracy in the States

• Initiatives
• Indirect Initiative

Citizen Petition
Voters Ratify at Polls
Legislature
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Direct Democracy in the States

• The Referendum
• 3 different types
• All concerned with legislative actions

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Direct Democracy in the States

• The Referendum
• Advisory

Voters offer opinion at Polls
Legislature drafts proposed legislation
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Direct Democracy in the States

• The Referendum
• General

Voters approve or reject at Polls
Legislature passes legislation
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Direct Democracy in the States

• The Referendum
• Popular

Voters Ratify at Polls
Citizens Opposed Start Petition to Nullify
Legislature Passes Legislation
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Is Direct Democracy Truly Democratic?
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Is Direct Democracy Truly Democratic?

• Popular Sovereignty the people ultimately rule

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Is Direct Democracy Truly Democratic?

• Popular Sovereignty - the people ultimately rule
• People participate in the process

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Is Direct Democracy Truly Democratic?

• Popular Sovereignty - the people ultimately rule
• People participate in the process
• Government policies reflect what the people want

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Is Direct Democracy Truly Democratic?

• Popular Sovereignty - the people ultimately rule
• People participate in the process
• Government policies reflect what the people want
• Majority rules

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Is Direct Democracy Truly Democratic?

• Popular Sovereignty - the people ultimately rule
• People participate in the process
• Government policies reflect what the people want
• Majority rules
• High quality information and debate are available

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Is Direct Democracy Truly Democratic?

• Popular Sovereignty - the people ultimately rule
• People participate in the process
• Government policies reflect what the people want
• Majority rules
• High quality information and debate are available

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Direct Democracy and the Quality of Voter
Decision-Making
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Direct Democracy and the Quality of Voter
Decision-Making

• Lack of voter cues

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Direct Democracy and the Quality of Voter
Decision-Making

• Lack of voter cues

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Direct Democracy and the Quality of Voter
Decision-Making

• Lack of voter cues
• Ballot language (KY 1996)

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Direct Democracy and the Quality of Voter
Decision-Making

• Lack of voter cues
• Ballot language (KY 1996)
• Manipulative/One-sided ad campaigns

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Is Direct Democracy Truly Democratic?

• Popular Sovereignty - the people ultimately rule
• But not at the cost of majority tyranny

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Is Direct Democracy Truly Democratic?

• Faction ...a number of citizens, whether
  amounting to a majority or minority of the whole,
  who are united and actuated by some common
  impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to
  the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent
  and aggregate rights of the community

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Is Direct Democracy Truly Democratic?

• There are two methods of curing the mischiefs of
  faction the one, by removing its causes the
  other, by controlling its effects.

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Is Direct Democracy Truly Democratic?

• Since the causes of factions are sown in the
  nature of man, Madison argues that the best
  strategy for preventing the mischiefs of
  faction is to control its effects through the
  design of political rules and institutions.

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Is Direct Democracy Truly Democratic?

• Republicanism as a political philosophy
  underlying the design of U.S. political
  institutions
• limits on direct participation, especially of the
  masses
• considerable independence given to national
  political institutions and elected officials
• power dispersed among many institutions and
  actors to prevent monopoly of power

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Putting Civil Rights to a Popular VoteBarbara
Gamble (AJPS 1996)
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Putting Civil Rights to a Popular VoteBarbara
Gamble (AJPS 1996)
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Putting Civil Rights to a Popular VoteBarbara
Gamble (AJPS 1996)
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Putting Civil Rights to a Popular VoteBarbara
Gamble (AJPS 1996)
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Putting Civil Rights to a Popular VoteBarbara
Gamble (AJPS 1996)
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Voter Turnout Individuals
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Voter Turnout Individuals
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Voter Turnout 1992
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Voter Turnout 2004
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Voter Turnout Across the States

• Explaining state variation

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Voter Turnout Across the States

• Explaining state variation
• Socioeconomic differences

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Voter Turnout Across the States

• Explaining state variation
• Socioeconomic differences
• Political culture

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Voter Turnout Across the States

• Explaining state variation
• Socioeconomic differences
• Political culture
• Political competition

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Voter Turnout Across the States

• Explaining state variation
• Socioeconomic differences
• Political culture
• Political competition
• Voter registration laws

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Voter Turnout Across the States

• Explaining state variation
• Socioeconomic differences
• Political culture
• Political competition
• Voter registration laws
• Closing dates
• States with 30 days or more 43.5
• States with 10 days or less 54.5

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Voter Turnout Across the States

• Explaining state variation
• Socioeconomic differences
• Political culture
• Political competition
• Voter registration laws
• Closing dates
• States with 30 days or more 43.5
• States with 10 days or less 54.5

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Voter Turnout Across the States

• Explaining state variation
• Socioeconomic differences
• Political culture
• Political competition
• Voter registration laws
• Closing dates
• Voting process

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Voter Turnout Across the States

• Explaining state variation
• Socioeconomic differences
• Political culture
• Political competition
• Voter registration laws
• Closing dates
• Voting process
• Absentee, early voting, mail voting (OR)

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Voter Turnout Across the States

• Explaining state variation
• Election calendar

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Voter Turnout Across the States

• Explaining state variation
• Election calendar

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Voter Turnout Across the States

• Explaining state variation
• Election calendar

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Voter Turnout Across the States

• Explaining state variation
• Election calendar

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Variation in Voter Turnout Does it Matter?

• Do differences in the composition of the
  electorate matter with respect to state policy
  outputs?

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Variation in Voter Turnout Does it Matter?

• Is there a relationship between state public
  opinion and state policy?

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Variation in Voter Turnout Does it Matter?

• Wright, Gerald C. Erikson, Robert S. McIver,
  John P. 1987.
• Public opinion and policy liberalism in the
  American states. American Journal of Political
  Science v. 31 (Nov.) p. 980-100.

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Measuring Public Opinion in the States

• Wright, Erikson and McIver (1985)
• Berry et al. (1998)
• Brace, et al. (2002)

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• Public Opinion in the American States New
  Perspectives Using National Survey Data.
• Paul Brace Kellie Sims-Butler Kevin Arceneaux
  Martin Johnson
• American Journal of Political Science gt Vol. 46,
  No. 1 (Jan., 2002), pp. 173-189

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Paul Brace et al.
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Measuring State Policy Outputs
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Are State Ideology and State Policy Liberalism
Related?
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Hill, Leighley and Hinton-Anderson, Lower Class
Mobilization and Policy Linkage in the United
States (AJPS 1995)

• Research Question Given that the lower class is
  generally unorganized (politically), what
  consequences does this have for public policy?
• Dependent variable State welfare benefit
• Independent variable Lower class mobilization
• Control for several other causes of state welfare
  benefits

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Hill, Leighley and Hinton-Anderson, Lower Class
Mobilization and Policy Linkage in the United
States (AJPS 1995)

• Research Question Given that the lower class is
  generally unorganized (politically), what
  consequences does this have for public policy?
• Results Everything else equal, an increase in
  lower class voting turnout of 10 leads to an
  increase in 5.00 - 10.22 in a states monthly
  welfare benefit.

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The National Voter Registration (Motor Voter)
Act of 1993

• Debated for many years
• Anticipated partisan consequences
• Has it been effective?

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Voter Turnout Over Time
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THE END