Study

Study

Study of Citizen Initiative (CI) for NC

by Jennifer Bremer, Ellen Reckhow, and Gaye Williams, Citizen Initiative study team leaders

Voters across the country are taking direct action to protect rights from voting to reproduction. They’re using citizen initiative (CI), collecting signatures to put a law on amendment right on the ballot. NC voters can’t do that: it’s not permitted by the state constitution.

Following last year’s LWVNC convention, the state board authorized a statewide study to consider a new position on CI, enabling LWVNC League members to advocate adding it to our constitution. Over the past year, a team of League members from across the state has done just that. After studying League positions from across the country, examining pros and cons, and hearing from experts, the team is very close to recommending a way forward for membership consideration.

Join the team to learn more about their work and weigh in on the proposed position that will be brought forward later this year. Contact Ellen Reckhow (ereckhow [at] gmail.com) to be connected with the team. 
 

The NC LWV Citizen Initiative (CI) Study Committee recommends that the League concur with an existing position on CI adopted by the Alabama LWV. The text for the proposed position, amended to make it applicable to NC, is below. The Study Committee will be sponsoring educational sessions about the proposed position in the coming months. We look forward to your involvement.

 Since this is a proposed position that has not been approved by the LWVNC, it should not be shared with non-members.

INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM (proposed position)

 

1. The League of Women Voters of North Carolina (LWVNC) recognizes the value of an initiative and referendum process that allows citizens to take a role in initiating and voting on both laws and constitutional amendments.  Currently, North Carolina does not have initiative and the only form of referendum (voter approval or rejection of a legislative enactment) now in place applies to constitutional amendments.  The state legislature must place its proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot for voter approval.    

2. The LWVNC believes strongly that the right of citizens to vote on constitutional amendments as now provided in the Constitution of North Carolina must be preserved. 

3. The LWVNC believes that the initiative and referendum process must embody safeguards to protect representative and deliberative democracy, to guarantee basic rights found in the U.S. and North Carolina Constitutions, maintain essential state services, and reduce the influence of special interest politics.  

4. Standards are needed both for the certification of an initiative proposal and for the referendum in which voters approve or reject it. The safeguards that the League recommends include: 

  1. Proposal Preparation

    a. Limit each proposal to one subject. 
    b. Explicitly bar propositions that would abrogate rights granted in the U.S. and North Carolina Constitutions.
    c. Require initiative sponsors to file with a designated state official (e.g., Secretary of State) before collection of petition signatures begins
 
      i.   the proposed initiative and title as they would appear on the ballot 
      ii.  a copy of the actual petition to be circulated; and 
      iii. clear identification of initiative sponsors. 
 
   d. Mandate an impartial expert review of proposal wording before collection of petition signature begins to ensure the proposal 
 
      i. is constitutional,  
      ii. makes clear what a “yes” vote and a “no” vote mean in practice, and  
      iii. uses language that is not offensive. 
 
       The review agency/agencies should be respected nonpartisan organizations such as the Legislative Drafting Division, or North  Carolina School of Government. 

    e. Bar the filing of a defeated proposal until at least two years have passed.  

  2. Signature Collection 

    a. Set a reasonable time limit for the period within which petition signatures must be collected. 
    b. Require that signatures be from registered voters only. 
    c. Require that signatures be collected from all areas of the state. 
    d. Base the minimum number of valid signatures needed on the number of votes in the last gubernatorial election.   
    e. Set the minimum number to initiate a constitutional amendment higher than for initiating a statute. 
    f. Require that all organizations working to gather petition signatures periodically file financial disclosure forms with the appropriate state office. 
 

  3. Campaign for Passage and the Vote 

    a. Require validation of petition signatures for placement on the ballot. 
    b. Place proposals only on general election ballots. 
    c. For proposals related to statutes, require only a simple majority for passage. Set the number higher for constitutional amendment initiative proposals.   
    d. Require an impartial analysis of the effect of the measure’s passage on existing law, current levels of service, and fiscal consequences. This information should be disseminated as widely as possible. The review agency/agencies should be a respected nonpartisan organization such as the Legislative Drafting Division, the Legislative Analysis Division, or the North Carolina School of Government. 
    e. Set a limit on the number of initiatives that may be placed on the ballot in any one election.   
    f. Require that all initiative sponsors periodically file financial disclosure forms with the appropriate state office.   
 

  4. Legislative Role 

Serious consideration should be given to allowing for legislative action on an initiative in the session that follows the certification of the petitions. Legislative adoption of a statutory initiative as filed would mean the initiative could become law without a vote by the people. If the Legislature offers an alternative measure, both versions would go on the ballot. Should the legislature fail to act on the proposed initiative, the initiative would go directly to the voters.

RESOURCES