Forms of Referendum, CONTENTS. The Development of the Initiative and Referendum, . The Introduction of the State-wide Initiative and Referendum, The Initiative on Constitutional Amendments, The Initiative on Ordinary Laws, or The Statutory Initiative, Majority Required for the Adoption of a Measure, Amendment or Repeal of Initiative Measures adopted by the Time of Filing the Petition, . Effect of Filed Petition upon the Law, Applicability to Part of a Measure, Time of Submission to the Voters, Majority Required for Adoption, Amendment and Repeal of Adopted Measures, The Statutory Initiative and Referendum: Common Provisions. Signatures, Was may Bolet, and on What Basic How Assure Genie, Backs of Compring Number of Sigen Filing of the Petnice, Submission of Measures to Voters.. Methods of Publicity, The Ballot, Confetting Provisions or Measure, Canvase of the Returns, Governor's Yeto on Submitted Measures, . Resubmission of Rejected Measures, . Amendment and Repeal of Adopted Measures, Relation of Initiative and Referendum to Rights of Members of Number of Measures on the Ballot and their Limitation, - APPENDIX A.-Constitutional and Statutory Provisions relating to the State-wide Initiative and Referendum, APPENDIX B.-Text of Constitutional and Statutory Provisions relating to the Initiative and Referendum from Typical States (Oregon, California, Arizona, Maine, Maryland), . Votes in Massachusetts on State Referenda and for Governor, 1780-1916, . APPENDIX D.-Table of Votings in Oregon and in Portland City Elections, APPENDIX C. APPENDIX E. Bibliography, 46 41 43 47 84 PAGE 32 40 40 90 106 THE INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM. During the past twenty years more than a score of the States of the Union have been making trial of Direct Legislation the enacting, annulling or ratifying of laws by the vote of the electors under forms of the Initiative and Referendum. DEFINITIONS. The Initiative is a device, by which any person or group of persons may draft a statute, or constitutional amendment, and, by securing to a petition the signatures of the requisite number of qualified voters, may require the State officials (with or without action upon it by the Legislature) to submit the measure to the electorate at a general or special election; if it is approved by the required majority, it becomes a law. The Referendum is a device whereby a measure, already drafted and approved by a representative Legislature or constitutional convention, is held in suspense until it shall have been submitted to the voters at a general or special election, there to be ratified or rejected by majority vote. The intent of the Initiative is positive, to secure the enactment of some measure which the Legislature has ignored or failed to pass; the intent of most forms of the referendum, on the other hand, is negative, -to superpose a popular veto upon an enactment already passed by the Legislature. FORMS OF THE INITIATIVE. 1. Under the Direct Initiative, on the filing of a petition signed by the requisite number of qualified voters, the proposed constitutional amendment or draft of a law, without any action having been taken upon it by the representative Legislature, must be placed upon the ballot at the next election. 2. Under the Indirect Initiative, the filing of a petition with the requisite number of signatures necessitates the measure's being first reported to the Legislature, which may enact it forthwith, or transmit it to the electors, or accompany it by a substitute measure, framed by the Legislature. 5. The Advisory iniuative is a nane sometimes appier to the method of promoting legislation. Do giver questia by submitting it to the voters, and requiring that there be transmitted to the members of the Legislature the result of these votings, as a more or less weight; expression of pubi opinion upon the matter under consideration. The Public Opinion. Lav in Massachusetts. Set Buiten. No. 7. FORMS OF THE REFERENDUM. The Referendum may be either Compuiser, or Optional. The Compulsory Referendum finds its most important instration in the case of American State Constitutions and amendments thereto. In nearly all of the States it is required that these be subjected for ratincation to & popular vote, before they can become law. Under the Optional Referendum, the popular vote upor the measure in question is brought about by ne requirement of the fundamental law, but by the Legislature's general or special grant of this freedom of choice. The following forms of Referendum have come into wide use in American States: 1. The Legislature may refer a special question to the voters for their decision. Thus, five times smee the adoption of the present Constitution. the General Court referred to the voters the question of the expediency of holdmg & constitutional con vention, and in 1895 the voters were called upon to express their opinion as to the expediency of granting municipa. suifrage to womel. 5. The Legislature may refer to the people for their rejection or approval at the polis any act or resolve of the Legislature, or any part thereof. (This form of Referendum was expressiy authorized for the Massachusetts General Court by the fortysecond Article of Amendment, ratified November 4, 1918. 1. The Legislature may grant te al local political units of the State the privilege of determining by popular vote the form in which the police power as it certam matters shal, he exercised unger genera jaw. Thus “local option” each year decides the method by wide the liquor traffic shall be regulated in the cities and towns of Massachusetts. 4. by genera. jav. the Legislature may authorize the local unit to adopt for itself certain regulations as to the public |