03 February 2010

The Other Side of the Ballot

 

At a polling place in Battle Creek, Michigan, a voter casts her ballot in the 2004 presidential election.

At a polling place in Battle Creek, Michigan, a voter casts her ballot in the 2004 presidential election.

This article is excerpted from the book American Citizenship, published by the Bureau of International Information Programs. View the entire book (PDF, 4.57MB).

Elections in the United States are not only about the candidates running for office. Frequently voters are asked to decide public policy issues for their states and communities.

Statewide questions make their way to the voting booth through one of two routes: a ballot initiative or a legislative referendum. A ballot initiative is a mechanism for citizens to propose policy changes, while a legislative referendum is proposed by the state legislature, an elected official, or a government agency or commission.

Ballot initiatives are permitted in only 24 of the 50 states, so legislative referenda generally outnumber ballot initiatives in any election year. In the year 2008, for example, 153 statewide measures were voted on by citizens: 92 legislative referenda and 61 ballot initiatives.

What are all these ballot measures about? Often they concern hot-button issues that citizens think are not being addressed by elected officials or that private-interest groups are promoting. In the case of referenda, legislators may not find agreement among themselves to enact a new policy or law, and they may think that voters should decide the matter.

Ballot questions reflect issues that are on the minds of Americans. In 2008 some of the most controversial ballot issues involved abortion, immigration policy, and same-sex marriage. Other issues that voters considered in several different states were renewable energy, criminal justice, drug policy, election rules, and legislative pay and term limits.

Closer to home, local governments often place bond issues on election ballots. Voters are asked to decide whether their jurisdiction should sell bonds to raise money for construction or improvement projects involving community assets, such as schools and libraries, parks and recreation centers, and roads and bridges.