What is a Citizens’ Initiative Review (CIR)? According to Healthy Democracy, CIR processes “bring randomly selected and representative panels of voters together to fairly and thoroughly evaluate ballot measures and give voters information they can trust.”
The average person does not spend much time deliberating on complex issues such as car tabs, climate protection, or tax policy. Even those of us heavily involved in politics have a hard time figuring out the real-world consequences an initiative would have. Yet, every voter is asked to make a choice on these issues, and these choices have the potential to greatly impact our lives in far-reaching and long-lasting ways.
How does CIR help with this? Much like a jury, CIR gives citizens the opportunity to spend the time needed to deliberate on the various questions and concerns that arise from an initiative. At the most recent Democracy Lobby Week, John Gastil, co-author of Hope for Democracy: How Citizens Can Bring Reason Back into Politics, gave an overview of how the CIR works and how other jurisdictions have used the process to bring a greater understanding to complex subjects. A replay of that presentation is available.
The LWVWA is building a coalition to bring this new tool to Washington to strengthen our democracy. SB 5250 has been introduced to the state legislature to establish a CIR pilot program, and the Senate State Government and Elections Committee will hold a work session on it over the legislative interim. We fully expect a hearing in that committee early in the 2022 session. We need to spread the word to build momentum going into next year. Would you like to be on the team building the communications package? We need to create PowerPoint presentations, graphics, videos, and written documents to explain what CIR will do for Washington state. Does this sound like something you would like to help make happen? If your answer is yes, please contact ksakahara [at] lwvwa.org (Kathy Sakahara). Elections, Voting Rights, and Campaign Finance Issue Chair, LWVWA
