Referendum Research Articles

Community-University Partnerships: The Benefits of Collaboration in Measuring Public Support for a Community Recreation Center

Community recreation centers (CRCs) are gaining popularity across the country. While many support the argument that CRCs improve quality of life by building social capital and improving the physical health of residents, that support does not necessarily translate into community support for the funding and construction of CRCs. Some communities undertake surveys to try to gauge the support for CRCs but have had mixed results on the insights provided by those surveys. Furthermore, public perceptions about the accuracy and usefulness of survey data could lead to stakeholder disregard for the data produced by them. This case study focuses on the benefits of a robust partnership between a local community and a regional university in developing a survey research project to analyze support for building a CRC. In this paper, we emphasize the value of producing trusted data and provide lessons on how community-university partnerships can achieve similar objectives. The first lesson is that community-university partnerships, by emphasizing local connections, can help foster trust in survey research projects. Second, strategic community-university partnerships can derive additional benefits such as division of labor, expertise, and cost savings. Third, by embracing the above two benefits, collaboration is not only possible, but can produce tailored survey research projects that provide stakeholders insights into critical questions. Finally, community-university partnerships that are structured around shared values can help communities solve critical policy issues effectively and efficiently. This case study details these lessons through an examination of a robust community-university partnership that led to the passage of a ballot referendum to build a CRC. This community-university model of collaboration provides a framework for communities and universities to work together to serve the public good.

Is ‘Revive’ a ‘game changer’ or more of the same? Whose needs are addressed in Australia’s new cultural policy and what will change?

ABSTRACT This paper addresses the new Australian cultural policy, Revive, released in January 2023 by the Labor Federal Government. The background to the policy development, the policy’s content, and the likely impact of the policy in the longer term, are all explored. This discussion is framed within theoretical understandings of cultural policies, as well as expectations of national cultural policies in other contexts . Consideration is then given to the role partisan politics play in Australia in relation to culture and the arts. In addition, there is an examination of the historical cultural and political framing of Australia in relation to issues around race, culture, and identity, which include referring to the the results of a recent national referendum. Further, the position of the arts sector in a national context is discussed, with particular reference to the funding decline that has afflicted the sector over the past 20 years. Conclusions are then drawn about the place of Revive in contributing to these different conversations.

‘I’ve Been Here Before’: Women Helping Women in Irish Abortion Narratives

In 2018, Ireland’s Eighth Amendment was repealed following a national referendum, and in January 2019, abortion became legal in the Republic of Ireland up to twelve weeks of gestation. Historically, Irish institutions have attempted to eliminate abortion through forced pregnancies in Catholic “mother-and-baby homes” and censorship laws designed to suppress information about reproductive health. However, abortion narratives in Irish literature reflect the realities of abortion in Ireland, including the networks of women who have helped people terminate pregnancies. For example, in Maeve Binchy’s Eighth Amendment-era short story “Shepherd’s Bush,” an Irish woman is assisted by friends and acquaintances who provide her with lodging, medical appointments, and camaraderie in London. Several works published in 2017, amidst the campaign to repeal the Eighth, depict young protagonists who share their abortion narratives and become activists. Many Irish people still rely on groups such as Women Help Women and Women on Web to safely access abortion medication, and the sharing of information and experiences remains relevant and necessary as Ireland transitions into an era of reproductive rights.

Mistrust: conservative rhetoric in the Oireachtas 2018 abortion debates

ABSTRACT In 2018, the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland, which had prohibited abortion except under certain severe circumstances, was repealed by an overwhelming majority of voters in a national referendum. This article addresses opposition in the Oireachtas to the liberal changes to the abortion legislation that preceded and followed the referendum. By employing a critical discourse analysis approach, I identify characteristically conservative rhetoric and arguments used in the debates. Furthermore, I adopt an analytical framework provided by Albert O. Hirschman to argue that the opposing rhetoric employed wasrooted in the conservative tradition: the opponents of the abortion legislation argued both that the changes to the legislation will have the opposite result than intended and lead to unacceptable consequences. The legislation will not only harm society but also undermine the interests of women. I conclude that the opposition to the legislation was based on a mistrust of women, their agency and self-determination. The study aims to shed light on how core ideas of conservatism, such as opposition to ‘excessive’ equality, manifested in the contemporary political debates on abortion and how, ultimately, the rhetoric in the Irish debates fits within the larger framework of conservatism as a school of thought.

Cost misperception and voting for public goods

AbstractPublic good provision is often determined through referendums by voters, who weigh benefits against costs. However, perceptions of benefits and costs may be incorrect, which could in turn lead to voter error and misallocation of public goods. Using real‐world referendums, we evaluate voter perceptions of the private costs of providing public goods by conducting three exit polls of New England voters and an online survey of California voters. By comparing cost perceptions to actual tax incidence, we find pervasive evidence that voters misperceive costs. Fewer than 20% of voters in our samples reported perceived costs within 25% of estimated actual costs. These findings are unsurprising given the ubiquity of opaque language explaining the financial consequences of public good referendums. In addition, our analysis suggests that actual costs have no statistical bearing on voter choice, but at least in the New England sample, voter approval is affected by perceived costs. Thus, a substantial proportion of voters are making decisions based in part on inaccurate costs, which in some cases lead to people voting against their preferences and potential misallocation of public funds. Further, researchers who match voter approval with estimated actual cost are unlikely to obtain accurate cost responsiveness or valuation estimates.

Life after the Failed Voice

Abstract The proposition of this article is that it is time to re-think Aboriginal self-determination. A process should be allowed to develop that is perhaps less grandiose than the failed Voice, which was rejected in October 2023, but more practical and reflective of Aboriginal social, linguistic, and cultural organisation. A process of self-determination that starts at the bottom and then, if necessary, works its way to the state and federal levels. The post-Voice world of Australia is uncertain. The rejection by public referendum of the Aboriginal Voice has left a void that will take a long time to fill. It is contended in the article that life after the Voice is best to be found by empowerment of local Aboriginal communities; by encouraging hundreds of local voices; by enabling those voices to become a keystone for local community affairs; and for those local Aboriginal voices to cooperate as advocates at the state and federal levels. It is suggested that a bottom-up, rather than a top-down model, would be consistent with Aboriginal social and cultural organisation, and ultimately would endow greater credibility and legitimacy for Aboriginal self-determination initiatives.

Abortion access, public opinion, direct democracy, and state political institutions in the United States

AbstractAlthough numerous states have enacted policies banning or limiting abortion since the Dobbs decision in 2022, public opinion in most states remains solidly in favor of abortion access. However, whether public opinion is reflected in the public policy of individual states depends on how political institutions mediate between opinion and policy. Activists on both sides of the abortion issue, therefore, have attempted to locate policymaking regarding abortion access in state institutional systems most congenial to their desired outcomes. In states with direct democracy, even where legislatures and governorships are dominated by conservative Republicans, activists have been successful in harnessing public opinion to protect abortion rights by winning public referenda. In response, Republicans have attempted to curtail the power of these referenda, shifting power back to legislatures more likely to be held by actors opposed to abortion rights. This venue shopping for policymaking advantage ultimately raises vital, difficult, and often uncomfortable questions about how political institutions and citizens negotiate the boundaries of democratic legitimacy in policymaking.

Voice Lessons

AbstractThis paper reflects on the national referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament that took place in Australia in mid-October 2023. At the time of writing, the aftershocks from the failure of the referendum to gain the necessary majorities were still being felt keenly by many of the Voice advocates and supporters. The hurt and grief of many First Nations people were shared by millions of non-Indigenous “Yes” voters, while much reckoning continued in the subsequent weeks and months. The author here explores what might have been gained if more attention had been given to what an Indigenous Voice to Parliament might “sound like,” instead of the excessive focus on, and public discourse around what it might “look like.” Resources from the philosophies and physiology of voice, communication ethics, cultural studies, critical anthropology, Australian Indigenous writing and scholarship, and psychoanalytic politics are utilised to explore the connections between the human voice, vocal expression, hearing and listening, silence and song.

Representing density: the politics of fear in Zurich city planning

ABSTRACT Density dominates current urban discussions, especially in light of still-developing understandings of Covid-19’s impact on urban populations. This paper argues that critical scrutiny of visual representations of urban density is both missing from academic focus and critically important for understanding how perceptions of density are both created and reproduced. The political rhetoric of density shapes public perceptions as much as it responds to them, and scrutiny of visual density politics adds a new lens to critical density debates. This research takes the speculative imagery of imagined future density created for a public ballot referendum in Zurich, Switzerland as the main focus, and compares the verbal and written campaign rhetoric to the visual images produced as tools of public persuasion. By assessing the gap between what the campaigns claim and what the campaign imagery represents, the research finds embedded in conventional rhetoric a deep-seated and self-defeating assumption that the electorate unilaterally fears density and the changes it might bring. As a winning electoral strategy assuming fear of density worked; as a tool of persuasion it failed, and risks amplifying or creating the perception it assumes.

Pandora's ballot box: Electoral politics of direct democracy

AbstractWe study how office‐seeking parties use direct democracy to shape elections. A party with a strong electoral base can benefit from using a binding referendum to resolve issues that divide its core supporters. When referendums do not bind, however, an electorally disadvantaged party may initiate a referendum to elevate new issues. It does so with the goal of dividing its stronger opponent's supporters. We identify conditions under which direct democracy improves congruence between policy outcomes and voter preferences, but also show that it can lead to greater misalignment both on issues subject to direct democracy and those that are not.

Informal Concentration of Powers in Illiberal Constitutionalism: The Case of Hungary

Classic and new concepts of the separation of powers doctrine focus on the control of central political power. Institutional checks and balances are classic legal instruments of this control, especially the activity of independent state organs. In those countries where the political system is dominated by a populist government, the institutional checks and balances and independent institutions are under constant pressure. In a consolidated political system that has already departed from liberal constitutionalism and where constitutional institutions do function only in a formal sense (illiberal constitutionalism), institutional checks and balances lose their significance. However, in addition to the exercise of powers by independent branches of government, other legal institutions or actions can also have a significant impact on relations between branches of government, even informally. Therefore, the system of checks and balances can be described as a multi-layered structure with formal (classical) and informal elements. The article analyses in detail, how the use of informal constitutional amendments and national referendums—as additional institutions belonging to the complex system of separation of powers—instead of controlling the central political power, has contributed to the informal concentration of government power in Hungary in recent years.

Demokracja bezpośrednia we Francji i w Polsce. Analiza porównawcza

The aim of this article is to conduct a comparative analysis of direct democracy in France and Poland. In the research process, three research questions were formulated: 1) What is the tradition of direct democracy in France and Poland?; 2) What are the solutions characteristics of direct democracy in the constitutions of France and Poland, and other legal acts in these countries?; 3) What are the practical applications of direct democracy tools at the national and local levels in France and Poland?. An analysis of legal acts constituting the legal basis for direct democracy in France and Poland was conducted. Documents related to the practice of direct democracy in these countries were analyzed. France has a long tradition of a direct democracy. Compared to France, Poland has a short tradition of direct democracy. The constitutions of both countries adopted a solution in the form of a national referendum. In addition to the institution of a nationwide referendum, the constitution-makers in France and Poland included the institution of a local referendum. The Constitution of the Republic of Poland also indicates a legislative initiative. Ten national referenda have been held within the Fifth Republic. Turnouts in referendums at the national level ranged from 30.19 to 82.63%. The average turnout in the referendum is 65.82%. In the votes, eight solutions were adopted and two were rejected. Six national referendums have been held in Poland since 1989. Turnouts in referendums at the national level ranged from 7.8 to 58.85%. The average turnout in referendums was 35.87%. Two solutions were adopted in the votes and four were rejected.

Digital Referendum - Effective Modeling of Public Administration in Georgia

State management in its content is a complex and at the same time dynamic process. The second half of the 20th century can be considered the initial period of management transformation and establishment of governance structures.
 Governance based on democratic principles is based on a number of fundamental principles, the correct implementation of which is the most important prerequisite for the establishment of democratic institutions. One such important democratic process is the referendum.
 In Europe, the practice of referendum is most established in Switzerland, which is governed by a system of direct democracy. Accordingly, in order to solve problematic issues, citizens in Switzerland take part in both regional and national referendums, which are undoubtedly democratic in content and respond to the fundamental principles of modern public administration.
 In Georgia, where there is little experience in holding a referendum, the implementation of a digital referendum is the latest challenge, which will be an important step in the way of the country's European integration. The involvement of citizens in the solution of important issues for the state allows the so-called possibility of communication between society and government. It eliminates "black holes" and ensures the reduction of conflicts between them. Of course, all the positive results of the referendum depend on how fairly and objectively it will be conducted.
 Thus, one of the important challenges of the digitalization of the public administration of Georgia is the digital referendum, the implementation and development of which is an effective step on the way of the state development of Georgia and as a result ensures the acceleration of the country's institutional and European integration processes.
 In the era of digital governance, it is necessary to develop new approaches to state intervention in all spheres of public life and public service delivery systems in order to optimally respond to the needs of citizens. Analysis and comparison methods are mainly used in the work, proposals are given in the direction of improving the provision of public services in connection with the electronic referendum.

Do populist parties promote direct democracy? An empirical assessment in 29 countries in the last two decades

ABSTRACT Populism is often associated with direct democracy. However, empirical support for this connection remains limited. Analysing a unique dataset on national referendums across 29 countries, this study challenges the presumption that populists are more inclined to advocate for referendums. Surprisingly, populists exhibit this tendency primarily when in opposition. Despite the increasing inclusion of populist parties in coalition governments, their impact on facilitating national-level direct democracy is more complex than anticipated. Utilising V-DEM data over 30 years, we find that populists prima facie enhance the use of direct democracy. However, this effect is contingent on contextual factors, such as party system institutionalisation and the democracy's age, indicating a nuanced relationship between populism and direct democratic practices.

SPECIAL OPERATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION TO OCCUPY THE CRIMEAN PENINSULA: THE PSEUDO-REFERENDUM OF 2014

The article analyzes the peculiarities of the illegal, falsified pseudo-referendum on the status of Crimea with pre-formed results and inflated turnout, which took place on March 16, 2014, in the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol occupied by Russia. The paper notes that it was preceded by the occupation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation in late February - early March 2014, and the event itself took place in the conditions of the Russian military presence, without free access to information. It is stated that the central authorities of Ukraine, including the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the National Security and Defense Council, the Ministry of Justice and other institutions, strongly condemned this referendum as illegal and held under duress. The author shows the attitude of the Crimean Tatar people and the Mejlis to the pseudo-referendum (they openly condemned Russia's actions, calling them aggression, and declared that it is impossible to determine the future of Crimea without the participation of the Crimean Tatars, who are historically the indigenous people of the peninsula). Although Western states, the United Nations and the European Union condemned Russia's actions, this, however, could not prevent the occupation of the peninsula, as Russia continued to ignore international resolutions. It is noted that the pseudo-referendum was illegal under the Constitution of Ukraine, as changes in the territorial integrity of the country can only be decided by a national referendum, not at the local level, and state borders and territorial integrity are inalienable principles of international law, which were violated by this referendum. Pseudo-referendum did not meet any standards of democratic elections - numerous voting violations were recorded during its conduct, including manipulation of voter lists, improper functioning of election commissions, voting of “dead souls” and the absence of independent observers.

The “Ballot Questions” of Roman Republican Legislative Assemblies

The “Ballot Questions” of Roman Republican Legislative Assemblies

Responding to crisis: The Cuban leadership copes with mass protests, 2020–2022

Abstract How did the Cuban government and Communist Party respond to mass protests in 2020–2022? This article explores the official tools used to respond to such protests. Contrary to common perceptions, the government and the party did not merely repress their opponents. Instead, they combined repression with some economic, social, and political changes. Mass protests in Cuba 2020–2022 challenged the political order the most in 40 years. Repression, ‘socialist legality’, emigration, elements of political accountability, and selective political liberalisation targeting appeals to churches, LGBTQI+, and Afro-descendant groups were within the toolkit. There was also some liberalisation within the National Assembly and the Supreme Court as well as selective democratisation, submitting the draft Family Code to public discussion and referendum, permitting opposition. The enactment of limited market reforms, which had been first authorised ten years earlier, also accelerated.

Referendums, Initiatives, and Voters’ Accountability

AbstractDo democratic systems that include binding referendum and initiative processes violate a core principle of democracy, namely that legislators should be accountable? Some have argued that they do: these popular vote processes would grant the right to legislate to ordinary voters even though they cannot be held accountable—i.e., face possible consequences imposed by others for their actions and decisions. As a result, we should favor conventional representative systems over systems with popular vote processes. In this article, I analyze this ‘accountability objection’ to referendums and initiatives and the conception of voters as ‘legislators’ on which it relies and argue that it does not withstand scrutiny. I first demonstrate that there is no sound basis to characterize only voters in popular votes, and not voters in elections, as ‘legislators’. Therefore, the scope of the objection is broader than anticipated by its proponents: it cannot be consistently used to dismiss popular votes without also being fatal to elections. I then argue that voters’ lack of accountability is not fatal to either mass voting process. The institutional role of ordinary voters provides them with co-lawmaking powers; but these are not the kind of special powers that justify holding certain actors accountable in democratic systems. This does not exclude that voters have responsibilities. I close by highlighting that, compared to conventional representative systems, democratic systems including well-designed popular vote processes could offer voters more supportive conditions to meet such possible responsibilities.

TRANSFORMATION OF THE INSTITUTE OF PARLIAMENTARISM IN UKRAINE AND THE BALTIC COUNTRIES (1990-2004): A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract. The article shows that the parliaments of Ukraine and the Baltic countries were the main platform for state-building decisions in the specified period, which changed not only the existing system, but also themselves. In general, this article attempts to consider the transformation of the institution of parliamentarism in Ukraine and the Baltic countries by the method of comparative analysis. The article contains an overview of the process of transformation of the institution of parliamentarism in the studied countries in historical, political and legal contexts. It reflects the correlation between the constitutions adopted at national referenda, in particular in Lithuania and Estonia, which did not undergo significant amendments in the future in terms of the functioning of the institution of parliamentarism. The adopted constitutions at the legislative level in Ukraine and Latvia, in particular regarding the activities of the parliaments, were subsequently changed under certain conditions. If in Ukraine such changes regarding the powers and status of the parliament were due to political considerations during the revolution of 2004, then in Latvia such changes were in the context of the requirements of the latest period, because this country restored its statehood together with its 1922 Constitution.

Electronic Technologies in Elections and Referendums: Theory and Practice

The article is devoted to the study of the theory and practice of using electronic technologies in elections and referendums in the context of guaranteeing the established international principles of electoral law. The relevance of the topic is related to the adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On the All-Ukrainian Referendum", which allows the use of information and telecommunication technologies during its organization and conduct. The subject of the study is the theory and practice of using electronic technologies in elections and referendums in Ukraine and abroad. The purpose of the article is to analyze the use of electronic technologies in the process of administration, preparation and conduct of elections, which can be similarly used in the all-Ukrainian referendum in the context of ensuring the principles of electoral law, and also to clarify the technical side of their implementation. The study applies the method of analysis and synthesis of scientific information, comparative legal and dialectical methods of scientific cognition. The norms of domestic legislation on holding elections and the all-Ukrainian referendum on the use of electronic technologies have been studied. International standards of the implementation of e-voting technology, as well as the main recommendations of the Venice Commission and the Committee of Ministers on preventing violations of the principle of fair and free elections during the use of information technologies, were analyzed. Special attention was paid to the study of legal opinions of courts of foreign countries regarding problematic aspects and possible violation of voting principles when using e-voting technology (USA, Germany, India, Albania). It was concluded that the international community does not distinguish between using of electronic voting programs in elections and referendums, applying the same approaches to the implementation of electoral principles. Recommendations for domestic legislative activity and the practice of election administration are outlined. The possible use of such leading information and telecommunication technologies as biometric identification, online registration of political parties and candidates, electronic voting, optical scanning of paper ballots, recording of a paper trail, cryptography, etc. has been revealed. The analysis of judicial practice made it possible to conclude that in order to comply with the public nature of the election process it is important to guarantee cybersecurity, protection of personal data and the results of will detection by recording a paper trail. Finally, attention was drawn to the problem of legislative regulation of electronic procedures during the all-Ukrainian referendum without their consistency and harmonization with the provisions of the Election Code of Ukraine. The obsolescence of the procedure for initiating a national referendum enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine and detailed in the law, which needs to be modernized, is emphasized.