The NC LWV Study Team on Citizen Initiative invites you to join them online for an informational session with Justin Phillips. Justin Phillips, an Associate Professor in the Political Science Department at Columbia University, will describe Citizen Initiative and its role in promoting direct democracy. Registration required. Questions: Contact Ellen Reckhow ereckhow [at] gmail.com

Background

Citizen Initiative (CI) gives voters a powerful “direct democracy” tool enabling them to collect signatures and put a proposed law or constitutional amendment directly on the ballot. Twenty-six of the U.S. states have CI processes in place. North Carolina, like most Southern states, falls into the “have not” category. CI is a way to address public policy issues that a state’s legislature refuses to address or is unable to resolve. The initiative process provides an opportunity for voters to make policy in an area where public opinion is moving but the legislature is not.