Defending the Initiative and Referendum Process

 

"This legislation is an attack on the rights of Massachusetts voters"
- Secretary William Galvin

ALERT!  The Legislature will convene a Constitutional Convention.  Among the amendments under consideration is a move to undermine the power of citizens to make changes under the Initiative-Petition process.  Common Cause needs your help to block this undemocratic maneuver.  Here's how to make your voice heard.

Take Action Now!

Send an E-mail  to your Senator and Representative urging them to vote down the proposed changes.

-----  And  -----

Call your Representative and Senator (617-722-2000) or click here to find your Representative or Senator

      Special note for letter writers: For maximum impact, personalize your letter by writing your own reasons for supporting our position. You are also encouraged to change the pre-written text in the subject line.

Arm yourself with information:

For over 80 years the citizens' initiative process has given Massachusetts citizens a direct voice in their government, allowing them to address issues the Legislature can't or won't enact. The proposed constitutional amendment would increase the number of signatures required to place and initiative on the ballot by over 50% and put pollsters in charge of writing the title and summary text that appears on the ballot. Contact your elected officials today and urge them to protect the initiative-and-referendum process as an effective tool for citizen involvement.

  • Click here to read the growing list of newspaper editorials in opposition to S. 362 & 363.

  • Click here to learn more about the initiative-and-referendum process.

  • Click here to read Executive Director Pam Wilmot's testimony in opposition to changing the process.

  • For talking points click here.

Take Action Now!

Find and Call  your Senator and Representative to let them know how you feel.

Send an E-mail to them  urging them to vote down the proposed changes.

 

>> History of the Initiative-and-referendum process:

 

When enacted in 1918, the House Speaker at the time said the initiative petition process “means that this government shall be brought back to the real control of the people…. The very fact that those who have exercised sinister influence in the Massachusetts Legislatures in the past are the most bitterly opposed to it—the interests—is convincing on this point.”  These interests include “lobbyists who appear yearly” and “lawyers with whom legislative practices their principle business (and who) exert an undue influence,…sometimes a controlling interest (on the legislature).” Common Cause has consistently defended the initiative-and-referendum process as an essential tool for public involvement in political decision-making.

Initiatives have resulted in the Bottle Bill, anti-smoking programs, the campaign finance office, the state Ethics Commission, the Financial Disclosure Law and conflict of interest laws, many campaign finance reforms, Proposition 2 1/2, tax rollbacks, and the defeat of tax rollbacks. For a comprehensive list of citizen initiatives that have appeared on the ballot click here to visit the Elections Division website.

Now, even more than at its adoption, the citizen initiative process is an essential tool for addressing issues the Legislature can't or won't enact. In the last two years, the Legislature has brazenly repealed or blocked implementation of three voter-approved laws:

- Public campaign financing (a.k.a. "the Clean Elections Law"); Passed into law in 1998 by a 2-1 margin.

- Tax deduction for charitable contributions; Passed into law in 2000 by 67.1% of voters.

- Income tax rate reduction; Passed into law in 2000 by 56.4% of voters.

In 2003, legislators filed several bills that would make it significantly more difficult for citizens to affect change through the initiative-and-referendum process. Common Cause brought together a coalition of politically-diverse public interest groups to fight to protect the initiative-and-referendum process in Massachusetts.  Now, less than a year later, it's under attack again.

 

Immediate Action Needed!

Send an E-mail to your Senator and Representative urging them to vote down the proposed changes.

Find and Call them to let them know how you feel.

 

We oppose:

 

  • S. 362.  Sponsored by Senator Rosenberg, this bill would significantly increase signature requirements for placing ballot questions on the ballot, and also implement a distribution requirement by Congressional District. The proposed constitutional amendment raises the number of signatures required to put a question on the ballot from the current level of 65,825 certified signatures, to 99,316 for a statutory change and 119,180 for a constitutional amendment.

 

Extensive summary of S. 362

 

 

>> Talking Points:

  • S. 362 and 363 effectively eviscerate the citizen initiative process, by making it virtually impossible to qualify initiative petitions for the ballot without the use of paid signature gathers.

  • Increased signature requirements in the bills will increase the use of paid signature gatherers, increase fraud, place additional burdens on cities and towns, and impinge on the rights of citizens to use the process.

  • Massachusetts ballot initiative process is already the most restrictive in the country, with stringent limitations on what issues can be addressed by initiative petition, requirements for legislative review and negotiation with proponents, and the shortest collection window in the nation.

  • The titles and summaries currently prepared by the Attorney General and Secretary of State have been cited by several national observers of the initiative process as some of the best in the nation.  They have been fair, neutral, and accurate, as required by the constitution, and have been infrequently challenged in court.  By making the process of setting summaries, titles, and explanations a political one, including political pollsters in the process, titles and summaries will be less rather than more accurate, neutral, and fair.  Litigation is sure to increase.

  • The bills come at a time when the legislature is hostile to the initiative process, ignoring or repealing three recent ballot questions (clean elections, tax roll back, charitable deductions).

Contact Your Elected Officials!

Please Call and E-mail

Click here to send your legislators an E-Mail!

Special note for letter writers: For maximum impact, personalize your letter by writing your own reasons for supporting our position. You are also encouraged to change the pre-written text in the subject line.