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Local
Initiative and Referendum in the United States
An Overview
by Professor Tari Renner /
Illinois Wesleyan University
The initiative and referendum are the
central mechanisms for direct democracy in America. While there is
increasing media and scholarly attention given to their usage, structure
and impact at the state level, there is little more than anecdotal
information that exists for initiative and referendum provisions in
American local governments. This is despite the fact that one of the few
sources of systematic data on instruments of direct democracy at the
local level indicates that there have been significant increases over
time in their usage and/or presence.
The
International City/County Management Association conducts a
Municipal Form of Government survey every five years (1981, 1986, 1991
and 1996). This survey instrument asks a wide variety of questions about
the political structures and their usage within American cities. These
questions include items on the initiative, referendum, petition or
protest referendum and recall election provisions. The survey is sent to
city clerks in all American cities with 2,500 people or more
(approximately 7,000 in the 1990s). The city clerks are given at least
two opportunities to complete the survey. The total number of responding
jurisdictions has ranged from around 4,200 to 5,000 in recent surveys.
The overwhelming majority (nearly 90
percent) of American cities report having some form of referendum
procedure. The data, however, indicates that there is little variation in
this figure by type of community (region, population size, central city
or suburban, etc.). There is, on the other hand, a clear variation in the
presence of "non-binding" referendum by region. They are the
least likely to be found in southern communities and most likely in New
England and Mid-Atlantic cities.
Petition/protest referendum procedures
were the least likely to be reported of the provisions for direct
democracy in American municipalities. Only 35.7% of responding
jurisdictions reported this in 1996 for example. The patterns by type of
community indicate that they are disproportionately prevalent in larger
cities and in the West and Pacific Coast communities.
Recall elections are reported by a
clear majority of cities (69 percent in the most recent 1996 survey).
They are most likely to be found in larger, central cities and those in
the West and Pacific Coast.
The trends in these response patterns
over time indicate that there have been significant increases in the
presence of the initiative and recall procedures in American cities.
While the percent reporting provisions were stable through the 1991
survey, there were unprecedented increases between 1991 and 1996. The
initiative, for example, was reported by 49 percent of communities in
1991 compared to 58 percent in 1996. Those indicating the presence of
recall procedures experienced a similar increase over the same period. A
total of 58 percent indicated having recall elections in their
municipalities in 1991 compared to 69 percent in 1996. There were no
significant changes in the percentage of referendum or petition
procedures over time.
The existing scholarly data also
indicates that only three states do not have provisions for at least some
form of direct democracy in their local governments. In addition to
demonstrating the importance of initiative, referendum and recall in
local political arenas, this point also illustrates the empirical reality
that all local governments are considered to be "creatures of the
state." So, the state legislature or state constitution determines
what the "rules of the game" will be for all local governments
within the state.
They may issue "home rule"
charters which permit jurisdictions to make their own decisions regarding
electoral or policy-making rules (including adopting forms of direct
democracy). These points suggest that any systematic analysis of these
procedures at the local level must begin with an understanding of what
the particular states "permit" or mandate of their local
governments. Do the states require or prohibit certain initiative,
referendum or recall procedures? How does this vary by type of charter or
form of local government? For example, are there different rules for
cities, counties, townships, school districts and special districts?
Once some of these "structural
issues" and patterns are clarified, we can begin to systematically
explore the actual usage and behavioral patterns of direct democracy in
American localities.
ICMA Study – 1996
National
Association of Counties Study - 1996
Studies
Pertaining to the Local Initiative and Referendum Process
Recent News about
Local Initiatives and Referendum
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