Referendum Question Research Articles

Communication in the Referendum Campaign as Exemplified by Free Broadcasts of the Entitled Entities on Polish Radio Lublin

The present article seeks to answer the question whether the fact that during the referendum campaign in 2015 the entitled entities had the opportunity to utilize free broadcast time in order to promote their activity affected the dominance of such content over the content concerning the issues raised in the referendum questions. Information on politics is obtained mainly from the media; the mediatization of politics is also allowed by Polish legislation, which provides for the opportunity to use free broadcasts on public media inter alia during referendum campaigns by entitled political entities. However, the possibility of using the free broadcasting time for the purposes other than stipulated in the law was not provided for. The research material was the free referendum broadcasts of the entitled entities, aired by Radio Lublin S.A., the method applied being the content analysis (quantitative and qualitative) . The main hypothesis, which assumed that the entitled entities used the allocated air time to promote themselves, inter alia through popularizing their names in the public space at the expense of the issues raised in the referendum questions, was positively verified as a result of research.

Communication in the Referendum Campaign as Exemplified by Free Broadcasts of the Entitled Entities on Polish Radio Lublin

<p><span lang="EN-US">The present article seeks to answer the question whether the fact that during the referendum campaign in 2015 the entitled entities had the opportunity to utilize free broadcast time in order to promote their activity affected the dominance of such content over the content concerning the issues raised in the referendum questions.</span><span lang="EN-US">Information on politics is obtained mainly from the media; the mediatization of politics is also allowed by Polish legislation, which provides for the opportunity to use free broadcasts on public media inter alia during referendum campaigns by entitled political entities. However, the possibility of using the free broadcasting time for the purposes other than stipulated in the law was not provided for.</span><span lang="EN-US">The research material was the free referendum broadcasts of the entitled entities, aired by Radio Lublin S.A., the method applied being the content analysis (quantitative and qualitative)</span><span lang="EN-US">.</span><span lang="EN-US">The main hypothesis, which assumed that the entitled entities used the allocated air time to promote themselves, inter alia through popularizing their names in the public space at the expense of the issues raised in the referendum questions, was positively verified as a result of research.</span></p>

Hope vs. Fear: The Debate Over a State Constitutional Convention

On November 7, 2017, New Yorkers will go to their polling places and receive ballots containing a thirteen-word referendum question: “Shall there be a convention to revise the constitution and amend the same?” That question appears on the ballot because the New York State Constitution commands that at least once every twenty years voters are asked whether or not to call a constitutional convention. The mandatory referendum reflects Thomas Jefferson’s belief that every generation the people should be given a chance to revise their basic law.

Legitimation of the Referendum - the Standard Mechanism of Participatory Democracy

Abstract The referendum is a multidimensional instrument, attested and practiced worldwide, considered to be a compulsory feature of democracy, provided it is used under strict lawfulness. The purpose of putting it into practice is to know the sovereign will of the people, expressed by vote, on a particular issue subject to its decision-making capacity. Following the referendum process, and in the case of referendum forms, such as the legislative or decision-making process, the referendum generates the obligation for the governing authorities to implement the decision adopted by the people. It is certain that the people’s response to the referendum question materializes a decision that emanates from the people, and which benefits in this way of increased legitimacy. Legitimacy is a concept that unleashes the force of the referendum, the result of which is imposed on everyone, the minority who voted against, and the governors. Legitimacy gives an institutional sense to the referendum, being an immanent part of the entire referendum process. It comes from the principle of the sovereign will of the people, which once expressed, is imposed on all the executive factors that must apply it. Legitimacy is both an intrinsic quality of the referendum and its effect, as it gives force to the outcome and justifies any political, legislative or administrative action or inaction. If the referendum process were deprived of legitimacy, or the resulting decision would be denied of this supreme attribute, then the referendum would be an artificial institution, empty of content, virtually useless.

Public Willingness to Pay and Policy Preferences for Tidal Energy Research and Development: A Study of Households in Washington State

Puget Sound in Washington State (WA) has significant tidal energy resources, but the industry is at a nascent stage of development. At this stage, the availability of research and development (R&D) funding plays a critical role in the success or failure of renewable energy schemes. However, information about public interest in developing marine renewable energy technology, including tidal energy technology, in WA and the U.S. has been limited. Responses to a dichotomous choice referendum question on a mail survey sent to a representative sample of WA households were used to estimate residents' Willingness to Pay (WTP) for tidal energy R&D. Public preferences for policies to support tidal energy R&D were also assessed. WA households are WTP between $29M and $127M annually for tidal energy R&D, indicating public preference for an increase in government spending on tidal energy R&D over current levels. Public perceptions of potential social, environmental, and economic risks and benefits of developing tidal energy emerged as highly significant predictors of WTP.

Same-Sex Marriages (or Civil Unions/Registered Partnerships) in Slovak Constitutional Law: Challenges and possibilities

In February 2015, Slovakia held a referendum ʻfor the protection of the traditional family.ʼ It was indirectly aimed against the potential legalization of same-sex marriages or civil unions. Owing to the initiative of the Slovak President, the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic (CCSR) reviewed four proposed referendum questions, while one of them was later declared unconstitutional. I attempt to point out the flaws in the CCSR’s judgment while looking for an argumentation in favour of the recognition of same-sex marriages/civil unions. I argue that Slovak constitutional law provides several principles for such recognition, which include: civic equality, similarity, equal access, democratic state, and the right to privacy. These principles are compared with the recent ground-breaking judgments of the US Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Finally, I briefly scrutinise the objection that recognising a right for same-sex unions means excessive judicial activism and judicializes politics.

Armed Violence and the Politics of Gun Control in Brazil: An Analysis of the 2005 Referendum

This article analyses the factors behind the paradoxical result of the Brazilian gun‐control referendum. It adopts a qualitative approach to explore the dissemination of ideologies surrounding crime, gun control and security. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with activists involved in the referendum's campaign. The results reveal that ideologically driven campaigns in a context of corruption scandals, high levels of violence and fear influenced the result. The neoliberal discourse of individual freedoms played a role, as did the phrasing of the referendum's question, fragile confidence in public institutions and unequal campaign funding and regulation.

Forty-one In One Blow! Thoughts on the Proposed Single Referendum Question to Decide the Amendment of Ghana's Constitution

Ghana’s Constitutional Reforms Commission, [CRIC], set up in 2012 to translate the report of the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), into concrete constitutional amendments submitted a draft bill to government in 2014. The Bill proposed to amend 34 entrenched provisions and insert 7 new ones and addressed matters found in no less than 10 chapters of the Constitution. Government apparently intends to put this bill to the mandatory referendum for amending entrenched provisions of the constitution. In other words, government hopes to amend Ghana’s Constitution 41 times with single power-packed blow. Both the constitutional review exercise and the proposed amendments, have been met with condemnation and challenge at nearly every turn. Recent sharp criticism from civil society organisations and constitutional experts, has centred on the intention – now somewhat less admitted – to craft a single ‘yes or no’ referendum question to decide all 41 proposed amendments. This paper is intended to swell the chorus of protest against a decision to logroll all 41 issues. It endorses the interpretation of Article 290(1) proffered by think-tank IMANI-Ghana. Hopefully a significant body of literature agitating against this unconstitutional, and unjust means of constitutional amendment will prevent the government from foisting on the people of Ghana – albeit with the best

Playing with political fire: Cameron, the Conservatives and the EU referendum

John Curtice sketches out the polling data on the EU referendum question, and finds a nation divided. With the prime minister's negotiation demands now in the open, he asks, has Cameron set the bar too low to secure the support of his own party and his voters?

Clouding or Clarifying? Using the Bible to Explore the Scottish Independence Referendum Question

This article reports on one dimension of a series of focus groups conducted mostly in the summer of 2014, in which participants were facilitated through a cycle of practical theological reflection to consider their impending decision in the referendum on Scottish independence. Attention here is given to the range of biblical passages which the participants themselves brought to the discussion. These are categorised under three headings: an issue, the manner of the debate, and political theory. A detailed account and analysis are offered of a text around social justice and another adopting a virtue ethics standpoint. Boff's “correspondence of relationships” hermeneutic sheds light on the sophisticated approach that participants took to the use of the Bible to consider a pressing political question on which a dichotomous answer was required in the ballot box.

Croatian Constitutional Court: The Referendum on the Cyrillic Script

The Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities states that ‘Equality in the official use of a minority language and script shall be exercised in the territory of a local selfgovernment unit in which the members of a national minority compose a minimum of one third of the population.’ Upon introducing the bilingualism (Croatian-Serbian) in Vukovar, a referendum was requested to raise the threshold of one third to at least a half. The Constitutional Court, however, rejected the referendum initiative, deeming the referendum question unconstitutional because it is contrary to the fundamentals of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia.

Stands Scotland where it did?

For a brief period in September 2014, the Scottish referendum was front-page news around the world. Although the campaigns for and against independence had been running in Scotland for 2 years, an opinion poll 2 weeks before the vote, suggesting a narrow Yes victory, unleashed a torrential rearguard action by UK supporters of the No campaign, including the three main UK political parties, banks, businesses, world leaders, assorted celebrities, and, with the exception of the Sunday Herald , every Scottish and UK national newspaper. Two days before the referendum, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and Leader of the Opposition, signed a ‘Vow’, on the front page of the Daily Record , promising increased, unspecified, devolved powers for the Scottish parliament, should there be a No vote. Emerging from political hibernation, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown rediscovered himself as a barnstorming orator, advocate, and guarantor of the Vow in the final days of the campaign. In this way, ‘Devo-max’, or enhanced powers for the Scottish parliament, which the Prime Minister had vetoed as a third referendum question, returned to the agenda after postal voters, comprising one-sixth of the electorate, had …

Constitutional Limits of Legislative Referendum: The Case of Slovenia

A relatively broad accessibility of the referendum as well as its inadequate normative regulation enabled is use (and abuse) for pursuing narrow political, including party interests, and the interests of well-organized civic groups. The Constitutional Court has had to decide whether to prevent a referendum due to the unconstitutionality of the referendum question or because its results would lead to unconstitutional consequences. Four decisions of the Constitutional Court in particular have left an important mark: by referring to the principle of constitutional democracy, whereby the Constitutional Court provides protection of fundamental rights and liberties, even against majoritarian beliefs, the Court prevented referendums on the deprivation of the citizenship; on the redress of injustice inflicted upon the "Erased persons"; on the construction of a mosque and on raising judges' salaries. The new constitutional regulation contains three fundamental sets of changes, namely changes in the field of the referendum initiative; the limits of the possible referendum subject-matter; and changes pertaining to the legitimacy of the referendum decision.

Exporting the clarity ethos: Canada and the Scottish independence referendum

Canada's Clarity Act, an act governing the process and practice of future referendums on Quebec sovereignty, has managed to find its way into the discourse, discussion and debate surrounding the 18 September 2014 referendum in Scotland. This article explores the notion of ‘clarity’ as it is being applied to the Scottish referendum, the consequences of this emergent ethos and how the question itself has become a preoccupation for both Separatists and Unionists alike. Having taken form in Canada, and now being utilised by lawmakers in the UK, the ‘clarity ethos’, as we argue below, is altogether an unattainable ideal. Subject to interpretative/cognitive bias, referendum questions, and how they are formulated, deserve the same level of analysis as the debate and discussion precipitating them.

Referendum Resource Officers in the 2007 Ontario Referendum on Electoral Reform

On October 10th, 2007, Ontarians overwhelmingly rejected a proposed change to their electoral system in a province-wide referendum on a new mixed-member proportional (MMP) system. Many commentators and academics blamed this failure of MMP on the quality of Election Ontario’s public education campaign, which was comprised of advertisements, an information hotline, a website, and public outreach activities. Elections Ontario’s public outreach element contained a unique program of grassroots education through local liaison officers. Elections Ontario chose to hire one Referendum Resource Officer (RRO) for each electoral district, who was tasked with providing referendum information through presentations and public meetings in their communities.
 
 This paper examines the feedback of one-third of these RROs collected through telephone and email interviews. Many of these RROs felt that the referendum education program fell short of its aim to provide local education on the referendum question and made suggestions as to the reasons behind the shortcomings of Elections Ontario’s referendum education campaign. They commented that their work was not supported by appropriate timelines, budgets and materials. In addition, many were displeased with the restrictions placed on RROs in efforts of keep the Elections Ontario campaign neutral. This case study supports previous referendum education and voting research that demonstrates that referendum education campaigns should not only provide timely and accessible information, but also encourage debate in order to provide citizens with the competence needed to make their “big decision.”

The Scottish Independence Referendum in an International Context

Summary There are no universally applicable procedural standards under international law for independence referenda. However, in contemporary comparative practice, a minimum requirement has emerged for clarity of both the winning majority and the referendum question. This article demonstrates that Scotland could become an independent state with the lowest popular support in recent international practice, yet this outcome would not compromise the legitimacy of the vote. Even the referendum question is an exemplar of textual clarity. However, the possibility of a referendum on the United Kingdom’s (UK) exit from the European Union (EU) complicates the matter. The author argues that, with independence, Scotland would, prima facie, also exit the EU, unless negotiated otherwise. However, with a potential referendum on the UK’s EU membership on the horizon, Scots do not know whether a vote to remain within the UK is also a vote to remain within the EU. Given the complexity and significance of the EU legal order, Scots have a right to know whether, at least in the near future, the alternative to independence is the UK within or outside the EU. If the two referenda fall too close to each other, the clarity of the Scottish independence referendum could be unduly compromised.

Households’ Willingness to Pay for Improved Watershed Services of the Layawan Watershed in Oroquieta City, Philippines

Watersheds provide numerous ecosystem services to downstream communities often with no cost to them. Although these services are valuable to humans, they do not have monetary values attached to them, making their total economic value quite ambiguous. This ambiguity results in the non-optimal use of the natural resources that leads to the degradation of the watersheds. One approach that could address this issue is payments for ecological services (PES). The main objective of this study was to estimate the willingness-to-pay for improved watershed services by domestic water users within the Layawan Watershed in Oroquieta City. It employed the contingent valuation method to assess the willingness to pay of water users. More than 50% of the respondents voted positively to the referendum question which is whether they are willing to pay a certain amount for the conservation of the Layawan Watershed or not. The computed mean willingness to pay amounts were Php 57.48 and Php 53.89 per month per household for the parametric and non-parametric estimations, respectively. These amounts translate to 0.68% of the average monthly household income of the sample respondents, which is approximately Php 8 198.84. The amounts computed may serve as bases for a water user fee that may be collected from the domestic water users in the Layawan Watershed as buyers of the watershed services.

The fourteen powers referendum of 1944 and the federalisation of Aboriginal affairs

The 1967 federal referendum, which gave the Commonwealth government power to legislate for Aboriginal people and count them in the national census, is celebrated as a turning point in the Aboriginal history of Australia. Given the disinclination of Australians to change the Constitution, it is rare to find such apparent unity in Australian politics, with over 90 per cent of the voting population answering 'yes' to the two referendum questions. Although the passage of time and a history of both advances and retreats in Aboriginal policy have led to a more measured assessment of its impact, many people still regard the referendum as a high point in Aboriginal people's struggle for human rights. They see it as a moment of great symbolic and political importance, a significant step in the transition from the politics of citizenship to the politics of Aboriginal self-determination and as the realisation of a long-held dream for a truly national Aboriginal policy, a dream that began as early as Federation itself. However, 1967 was not the first time the Australian people had been asked to pass control of Aboriginal affairs to the Commonwealth by referendum. Clause N of Section 2 of the so-called 'fourteen powers' referendum held in August 1944 - the Curtin Labor Government's attempt to clothe itself with extra powers in order to fully administer its plans for postwar reconstruction - asked the Australian people, as part of that process, to agree to the transfer of power over Aboriginal people to the Commonwealth. The referendum failed and so did the Aboriginal clause. It was a casualty of the government's insistence that all fourteen powers be voted on as one and this meant that power over Aboriginal people remained with the states for a further 23 years. This article sets out the history and explores the debates surrounding the inclusion of the Aboriginal clause in the 1944 referendum and tries to estimate its importance in the heated arguments about the referendum, post-war reconstruction and the extent of Commonwealth powers. It supports existing arguments that the government added the clause to an already existing list only after representations from the Association for the Protection of Native Races (APNR) and similar bodies. The paper argues that the Aboriginal clause was placed last on the list of powers to be transferred in the referendum - underlining its status as an afterthought - and, in the national and state debates about Commonwealth powers in the wider referendum campaign, it was generally marginalised, overshadowed by seemingly weightier issues such as repatriation and employment. Finally it argues that there was a substantial degree of support for the clause among all political parties and, curiously, it was this almost universal support that caused it to be so little discussed.

`Uphold' or `Revoke'? A Study of Question Wording in Twelve Municipal Plebiscites in Flanders

Direct democratic participation through referenda is often contested because one faces the problem of determining referendum questions which avoid confusion or subjectivity. However, detailed knowledge concerning so-called ‘question wording effects' is available within the domain of survey research. In this body of literature, several wording effects such as the use of suggestive wordings, the ambiguity of yes/no questions etc., have been well documented. Yet, despite the similarities between referendum and survey questions, knowledge from survey methodology is rarely employed within the literature on referenda. The present study discusses a number of question wording effects studied in survey research and shows their relevance in referendum settings. Moreover, this article explores these effects in twelve local referenda in Flanders. Building on this empirical evidence, we conclude with a number of precise guidelines regarding the quality of referendum questions.

Procedural Invariance Testing of the One-and-One-Half-Bound Dichotomous Choice Elicitation Method

The contingent valuation method for estimating willingness to pay for public goods typically adopts a single referendum question format, which is relatively statistically inefficient. As an alternative, Cooper, Hanemann, and Signorello (2002) propose the one-and-one-half bound (OOHB) format, allowing researchers to question respondents about both a lower and higher limit on project costs, thereby securing substantial gains in statistical efficiency. Using an experimental design, we find that responses to OOHB valuation questions fail crucial tests of procedural invariance. We test various competing models of observed response patterns including strategic misrepresentation of standard preferences and nonstandard models of preference formation.