The Limits of Citizen Support for Direct Democracy

Abstract

Direct democracy is extraordinarily popular and has become a pervasive policymaking tool at the state and local level. Repeated surveys demonstrate that Americans strongly approve of allowing people to vote on citizen-proposed laws, a method currently allowed in about half the states and in many municipalities. This paper examines the extent of this support. Using dimension reduction techniques, we present evidence that demonstrates that with regards to approval of direct democracy, most voters find themselves in the middle. On principal, they approve of voting on ballot measures, but they express concern about campaigns and would support reforms. Opinions about direct democracy are unidimensional and close examination of questions demonstrates that Californians will express general support for direct democracy, but are amenable to changes to the process that would fundamentally alter its usage.

The Impact of Direct Democracy on Governance: A Replication and Extension

“…Moreover, much research has emphasized polls showing that the process remains generally popular with the public. However, recent analysis has called into question the depth of such support, and suggested that citizens -including Californians -are in fact quite supportive of some reforms (see especially Dyck and Baldassare 2012). For example, a 2006 survey by the Center for Governmental Studies (2008) found that although 45% of respondents were somewhat satisfied and 37% of respondents not satisfied with the initiative process at all, 80% of the respondents believed in the idea of the initiative process and the ability of voters to make decisions on proposed laws (Center for Governmental Studies 2008, p. 348).…”