Initiatives and Referendum...In 57 Seconds with Senator Joe Fain
Summary
TLDRSenator Joe Fain explains the initiative and referendum process in Washington state, one of the first to adopt direct democracy. Initiatives can go directly to the ballot or to the legislature, while referendums involve laws passed or referred by the legislature. To qualify, initiatives require 8% of the governor's race votes in signatures, and referendums half that number. Despite many filings, only a small percentage make it to the ballot, with topics like abortion rights and minimum wage among those approved. Changes to the process are often proposed but face controversy due to constitutional protection.
Takeaways
- 🗳️ Washington state allows citizens to directly influence legislation through initiatives and referendums.
- 📜 In 1912, Washington became one of the first states to adopt initiative and referendum rights.
- 🔢 There are two types of initiatives: initiatives to the people and initiatives to the legislature.
- 🏛️ Initiatives to the legislature are treated like bills but go to the ballot if not passed by the legislature.
- 📝 Any registered voter can propose an initiative, but they must collect 8% of the votes from the last gubernatorial election in signatures.
- ⏱️ Initiative proposers have 6 months to collect approximately 250,000 signatures for their initiative to qualify for the ballot.
- 📑 There are two types of referendums: measures and bills, which can be placed on the ballot through citizen petition or legislative referral.
- 💡 Referendum measures require half the number of signatures in half the time compared to traditional initiatives.
- 📊 Only 7% of initiatives filed over the past four decades have made it to the ballot, with less than half being approved.
- 🔑 Topics that have been addressed by successful initiatives include abortion rights, gun control, education, minimum wage, marijuana legalization, and tax limits.
- 🔄 Annually, bills are introduced in Olympia to modify the initiative and referendum process, which can be contentious due to constitutional protections.
Q & A
What is the significance of the year 1912 in Washington's political history?
-In 1912, Washington became one of the first states to grant the right of initiative and referendum, marking a significant step towards direct democracy.
How many states in the U.S. currently have some form of direct democracy?
-There are 26 states in the U.S. that have some form of direct democracy, including the right to initiative and referendum.
What are the two types of initiatives mentioned in the script?
-The two types of initiatives are initiatives to the people, which go directly to the ballot, and initiatives to the legislature, which are treated like any other bill unless they don't pass and then go on the ballot.
What is the requirement for a registered voter to propose an initiative in Washington?
-A registered voter must collect enough signatures from other voters to equal 8% of the most recent votes cast in the race for governor, or roughly 250,000 ballot signatures within 6 months.
How many types of referendums are there, and what are they?
-There are two types of referendums: referendum measures, which are laws passed by the legislature placed on the ballot through citizen petition, and referendum bills, which are laws the legislature has referred to the people for their final say.
What is the signature requirement for referendum measures compared to traditional initiatives?
-Referendum measures must collect half the number of signatures in half the time as traditional initiatives to qualify for the ballot.
How many initiatives are typically filed with the Secretary of State each year, and what is the success rate for making the ballot?
-Each year, as many as 80 initiatives are filed with the Secretary of State, and over the past four decades, only 7% of those filed have made the ballot.
What percentage of initiatives that made the ballot were approved by voters?
-Less than half of the initiatives that made the ballot were approved by voters.
What are some examples of issues that have been addressed through initiatives by Washington voters?
-Examples include abortion rights, gun control, education, minimum wage, marijuana legalization, public records, and various limits on taxes and fees.
What types of changes are typically introduced in Olympia that affect the initiative and referendum process?
-Changes introduced in Olympia can include extensions on the deadline for signature gathering, requiring greater financial transparency, and limitations on where and how signatures can be collected.
Why are changes to the initiative and referendum process controversial and difficult to enact?
-Changes to the initiative and referendum process are controversial and difficult to enact because it involves constitutionally protected rights.
Outlines
🗳️ Direct Democracy in Washington State
Senator Joe Fain introduces the concept of initiative and referendum as tools for citizens to directly influence legislation in Washington State. The state, one of the first to adopt such measures in 1912, allows for initiatives to the people, which go straight to the ballot, and initiatives to the legislature, which are treated like bills but can go to the ballot if not passed. Any registered voter can propose an initiative, but they must gather approximately 250,000 signatures within six months. There are two types of referendums: measures which are laws passed by the legislature and bills which are referred to the people for a final decision. Referendum measures require fewer signatures but within a shorter timeframe. Historically, only a small percentage of filed initiatives make it to the ballot, and even fewer are approved. Topics covered by successful initiatives include abortion rights, gun control, education, minimum wage, and marijuana legalization. The process is subject to change through legislation, but changes are often controversial due to the constitutional protection of these rights. The video concludes with an invitation for viewers to share the video and suggest topics for future 57-second explanations.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Initiative
💡Referendum
💡Direct Democracy
💡Ballot
💡Signatures
💡Legislature
💡Citizen Proposal
💡Olympia
💡Secretary of State
💡Financial Transparency
💡Signature Gathering
Highlights
Washington allows citizens to influence legislation through initiatives and referendums.
Initiatives and referendums are part of Washington's direct democracy, established in 1912.
There are 26 states in the U.S. with some form of direct democracy, including Washington.
Initiatives to the people go directly to the ballot, while initiatives to the legislature are treated like bills.
Any registered voter can propose an initiative, but must collect a significant number of signatures.
The required number of signatures is 8% of the votes cast in the most recent governor's race, approximately 250,000.
Referendum measures are laws passed by the legislature that can be challenged by citizen petition.
Referendum bills are laws referred to the people for a final decision by the legislature.
Referendum measures require fewer signatures but have a shorter time to collect them compared to initiatives.
Over the past four decades, only 7% of filed initiatives have made it to the ballot.
Less than half of the initiatives that made the ballot were approved by voters.
Initiatives have covered significant issues such as abortion rights, gun control, education, and minimum wage.
Marijuana legalization and public records are among the topics addressed by initiatives.
Taxes and fees have also been subject to limitations through initiatives.
Legislative bills are introduced each year to change the initiative and referendum process.
Changes to the process can include signature gathering deadlines and financial transparency requirements.
Signature collection methods and locations may also be subject to legislative changes.
Initiatives and referendums are constitutionally protected rights, making changes to the process controversial.
Senator Joe Fain encourages viewers to engage with the process and suggest topics for future videos.
Transcripts
if you don't like what Washington
lawmakers are or aren't doing you can
change that at the ballot through an
initiative or referendum I'm Senator Joe
Fain how does it all work we'll break it
down in 57
seconds in 1912 Washington became one of
the first states to Grant the right of
initiative and referendum and is now one
of 26 states with some form of direct
democracy there are two types of
initiatives initiatives to the people
which go directly to the ballot and
initiatives to the legislature which are
treated like any other bill in Olympia
except if they don't pass they go on the
ballot any registered voter in the state
can propose an initiative but they must
collect enough signatures from other
voters to equal 8% of the most recent
votes cast in the race for governor or
roughly 250,000 ballot signatures within
6 months to qualify for the ballot there
are also two types of referendum
referendum measures which are laws
passed by the legislature that are
placed on the ballot through Citi and
petition and referendum bills which are
laws the legislature has referred to the
people for their final say referendum
measures must collect half the number of
signatures in half the time as
traditional initiatives to qualify for
the ballot each year as many as 80
initiatives are filed with the Secretary
of State over the past four decades only
7% of those filed have made the ballot
and less than half of those were
approved some big initiative voters have
approved include abortion rights gun
control education minimum wage marijuana
legalization public records and various
limits on taxes and
fees what's next for our initiatives and
referendums well each year bills are
introduced in Olympia that make changes
to the process from extensions on the
deadline for Signature Gathering to
requiring greater Financial transparency
to limitations on where and how
signatures can be collected but because
this is a constitutionally protected
right changes are always controversial
and difficult to enact either way you're
almost guaranteed to see an initiative
or referendum on your ballot in an
upcoming election if You' like this
video and want more explanations of the
big issues here in Olympia in 57 seconds
share it with others and then contact me
and let me know what we should cover
next thanks for
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