http://www.ppic.org/publications/briefs.html#political
You can also download a copy of the PPIC's research brief entitled "How Interest Groups Use the Initiative Process in California" on their website. Look for it under "Governance".

NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/election/jan-june00/initiatives_5-17.html
The NewsHour's most recent report on the initiative process, in which they ask the question, "Are initiatives the purest form of democracy, or is the process falling prey to moneyed special interests?"

				The Initiative Debate: Discussion 05-17-2000 Two experts assess the implications of ballot initiatives on governing.
		View video by transcript THERE. >> NOW, TWO PERSPECTIVES ON THE INITIATIVE PROCESS WHICH IS USED IN NEARLY HALF THE STATES AND IN HUNDREDS OF LOCALITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY. "WASHINGTON POST" POLITICAL REPORTER DAVID BRODER IS THE AUTHOR OF "DEMOCRACY DERAILED: INITIATIVES CAMPAIGNS AND THE POWER OF MONEY. " DANE WATERS IS PRESIDENT OF THE INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM INSTITUTE IN WASHINGTON, AN ORGANIZATION THAT STUDIES AND PROMOTES THE INITIATIVE PROCESS. WELCOME, GENTLEMEN. WELL, DAVID BRODER, YOUR BOOK TITLE PRETTY MUCH SUMS UP YOUR ATTITUDE-- "DEMOCRACY DERAILED. " WHAT IS SO BAD ABOUT THE INITIATIVE PROCESS? >> I SAID "DERAILED" DELIBERATELY BECAUSE I THINK THIS WAS AN IDEA THAT CAME TO OUR COUNTRY ABOUT 100 YEARS AGO, WHICH WAS NOBLE IN ITS INTENT, WORKED QUITE WELL FOR A WHILE, IT WAS DESIGNED TO EMPOWER AVERAGE CITIZENS TO WRITE THE LAWS AT A TIME WHEN MANY PEOPLE SAW THE CORRUPTION IN THE LEGISLATURES. THEY STILL SEE THAT KIND OF CORRUPTION IN LEGISLATIVE BODIES TODAY, BUT INCREASINGLY, THE INITIATIVE PROCESS IS BEING USED BY POWERFUL INTEREST GROUPS AND BY MILLIONAIRES WHO HAVE THEIR OWN PERSONAL POLITICAL AGENDAS. >> WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THAT, THAT THE INITIATIVE PROCESS HAS MOVED QUITE A WAYS AWAY FROM ITS ORIGINAL CONCEPT? >> NO, I WOULD NOT. I MEAN, THE INITIATIVE PROCESS WAS DESIGNED TO ALLOW PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET AROUND THE LEGISLATURE WHEN IT WAS UNWILLING OR UNABLE TO DEAL WITH CERTAIN ISSUES. TODAY YOU HAVE RICH SPECIAL INTERESTS OR MILLIONAIRES WHO HAVE TRIED TO GET ISSUES THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS AND THEY HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL, SO THEY'VE TURNED TO THE INITIATIVE PROCESS. SO IT IS BEING USED EXACTLY AS THE PROGRESSIVES AND POPULISTS ENVISIONED IT TO BE USED 100 YEARS AGO. >> IT DOES LET CITIZENS, THOUGH, TOO, DOESN'T IT DAVID, IF THE LEGISLATURE'S UNRESPONSIVE, IT GIVES THEM ANOTHER AVENUE. >> WHEN I WAS REPORTING ON THIS, I FOUND THAT THERE WERE SOME GENUINE CITIZEN INITIATIVES. FOR EXAMPLE, PEOPLE WHO WERE INTERESTED IN ANIMAL RIGHTS OFTEN CAN... IN PROTECTING GAME FROM WHAT THEY REGARD AS CRUEL HUNTING OR TRAPPING PRACTICES, THEY CAN GENERATE A LOT OF VOLUNTEER SUPPORT, AND THEY CAN REALLY MANAGE TO GET THESE INITIATIVES ON THE BALLOT BY THEIR OWN EFFORTS. BUT FOR EVERY CASE OF THAT KIND, I FOUND MANY MORE WHERE IT WAS THE MONEY THAT WAS DRIVING THE PROCESS. IT WAS THE GROUPS OR THE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD MONEY TO PUT INTO IT WHO COULD PAY THE PEOPLE WHO COLLECT THE SIGNATURES, WHO COULD HIGHER HIRE THE LAWYERS TO WRITE THESE INITIATIVES, AND MOST OF ALL, TO HIRE THE POLITICAL CONSULTANTS THAT RUN THESE VERY EXPENSIVE CAMPAIGNS NOW TO PASS OR DEFEAT THESE INITIATIVES. >> HOW MUCH OF A ROLE DOES MONEY PLAY IN THE SUCCESS OF THESE INITIATIVES, IN GETTING ON THE BALLOT OR IN WINNING? >> WELL, YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE MONEY ISSUE AND BREAK IT DOWN INTO THREE SEPARATE DISCUSSIONS. FIRST, IS MONEY NECESSARY TO UTILIZE THE INITIATIVE PROCESS? YES. PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THE RESTRICTIONS AND REGULATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PLACED ON THE PROCESS. NOW, IF YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT ROLE MONEY PLAYS... >> AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT... EXCUSE ME, THAT YOU HAVE TO COLLECT, FOR INSTANCE, A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SIGNATURES, AND THEY ALL HAVE TO BE TO BE REGISTERED VOTERS. >> RIGHT. IN CALIFORNIA YOU TO COLLECT A MILLION SIGNATURES IN 120 DAYS. THAT REQUIRES A LOT OF MONEY. SO IT TAKES MONEY TO UTILIZE THE INITIATIVE PROCESS. NOW, AS FAR AS WHAT EFFECT MONEY HAS IN THE SUCCESS OF INITIATIVES, ONLY 40% OF ALL BALLOT MEASURES PASS, AND THAT IS BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE PREDISPOSED TO VOTE NO ON NEW LAWS. WHEN MORE MONEY IS SPENT IN AN INITIATIVE CAMPAIGN, THAT JUST RACES VOTER DOUBT, AND VOTERS ARE SMART AND THEY'RE CONFIDENT AND THEY VOTE NO. YOU CAN'T TAKE MONEY AND JUST BUY A YES VOTE. ACADEMIC AFTER ACADEMIC SAYS THAT'S NOT THE CASE. AND, YOU KNOW, DAVID IN HIS BOOK SAYS IT DOESN'T JIVE WITH HIS VIEWPOINT. BUT THE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THAT IS NOT CORRECT. >> YOU RAISED, DAVID, IN YOUR BOOK ANOTHER CRITICISM APART FROM THE MONEY, AND YOU SAID... YOU CALLED THE INITIATIVE PROCESS "AN ALTERNATIVE FORM OF GOVERNMENT THAT'S ALIEN TO THE CONSTITUTION. " HOW DO YOU THINK IT'S ALIEN TO THE CONSTITUTION? >> THE MEN IN INDEPENDENCE HALL CREATED WHAT THEY CALLED A REPUBLIC IN WHICH WE WOULD GOVERNOR OURSELVES THROUGH ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES WHO WOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE TO US AT ELECTION TIME. AND THEY PUT INTO PLACE ALL OF THOSE CHECKS AND BALANCES, WHICH WE LEARNED ABOUT IN OUR HIGH SCHOOL CIVICS CLASSES. THOSE CHECKS AND BALANCES WERE DESIGNED TO BE SURE THAT THERE WAS GENUINE CONSENSUS IN THE SOCIETY BEFORE LAW WAS WRITTEN. THOSE CHECKS AND BALANCES ARE LARGELY MISSING FROM THE INITIATIVE PROCESS, WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL OR A GROUP GETS THE LAW WRITTEN EXACTLY THE WAY THEY WANT IT BY THE LAWYERS THAT THEY HAVE HIRED. IT GOES ON THE BALLOT EXACTLY THE WAY THEY WANT IT, AND THEN THE CAMPAIGN IS DESIGNED TO SELL IT EXACTLY AS THEY WANT IT SOLD. THERE IS NEVER A POINT IN THAT PROCESS WHERE THERE IS A SERIOUS DISCUSSION, NEGOTIATION BETWEEN THE SUPPORTERS AND THE OPPONENTS TO TRY TO WORK OUT CONSENSUS, WHICH IS THE ESSENCE OF THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS. >> THE CHECKS AND BALANCES ON THE INITIATIVE PROCESS ARE THE SAME THAT EXIST ON THE NORMAL LEGISLATIVE LAWMAKING PROCESS. IF AN INITIATIVE IS PROPOSED THAT INFRINGES UPON ANYBODY'S MINORITY RIGHTS, THE COURTS ARE THERE TO STRIKE IT DOWN. OUR FOUNDING FATHERS CREATED A SYSTEM... CREATED A CONSTITUTION, WHICH WAS A WONDERFUL DOCUMENT, BUT THEY ALLOWED SLAVERY AND THEY DIDN'T GIVE WOMEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE. AND THEY SAW THAT THIS WAS A DOCUMENT THAT NEEDED TO BE CHANGED AND ALTERED. AFTER 100 YEARS, THE PROGRESSIVES AND POPULISTS SAID, "HEY, THIS IS A WONDERFUL DOCUMENT. WE HAVE A GREAT SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES, BUT WE NEED ADDITIONAL CHECK AND BALANCE ON REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT. " THAT'S WHY THEY PROPOSED THE INITIATIVE PROCESS. >> BUT YOU WOULD AGREE, WOULDN'T YOU, THAT FOR INSTANCE, IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, YOU HAVE HEARINGS. YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF PUBLIC DEBATE ON AN ISSUE THAT YOU DON'T HAVE HERE, YOU JUST HAVE BASICALLY COMPETING ADVERTISING. >> WELL, NO. YOU DO HAVE PUBLIC DEBATE. I MEAN, THE GENESIS OF GETTING AN INITIATIVE ON THE BALLOT, IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT PROCESS. FOR EXAMPLE, IN MONTANA YOU WRITE YOUR LANGUAGE, YOU SUBMIT IT TO THE STATE, THE STATE REVIEWS IT, THE STATE GIVES YOU COMMENTS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT IT'S CONSTITUTIONAL OR NOT, THEY SAY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER THIS. SO YOU HAVE THAT ENTIRE PROCESS. THEN ONCE THAT OCCURS, THEN YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND CONVINCE, YOU KNOW, IN CALIFORNIA, A MILLION PEOPLE TO SIGN IT, WHICH MEANS YOU HAVE TO APPROACH ACTUALLY FOUR MILLION PEOPLE BECAUSE ONLY 20% OF THE PEOPLE YOU APPROACH ACTUALLY SIGN A PETITION. AND THEN YOU HAVE SEVERAL MONTHS TO CONVINCE 50% PLUS ONE OF THE VOTERS THAT, "HEY, THIS IS A GOOD IDEA. " AND THERE'S A LOT OF PUBLIC DEBATE. >> THAT'S NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU IN THE CHECKS AND BALANCES DEPARTMENT? >> THE PEOPLE THAT I INTERVIEWED WHO RUN THESE CAMPAIGNS I THOUGHT WERE REMARKABLY CANDID BECAUSE THEY SAID, "LOOK, IT IS NOT OUR JOB TO EXPLAIN THE INITIATIVE. THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE HIRED TO DO. " AND WHAT IN FACT THEY DO, AND DANA HAS SEEN THIS MANY TIMES, IS THEY FIND A SLOGAN THAT WILL ATTRACT PEOPLE OR ASSEMBLE... SOME OF THESE INITIATIVES-- ONE THAT I WROTE ABOUT IN NEBRASKA IN 1998-- 12,000 WORDS OF CONSTITUTIONAL LANGUAGE. NOBODY IN HIS RIGHT MIND IS GOING TO READ THAT MUCH THING, SO THEY FIND A HANDY SLOGAN THAT WILL ATTRACT PEOPLE TO IT, OR IF THEY'VE BEEN HIRED BY THE OTHER SIDE, TO REPEL PEOPLE FROM IT. >> YET, AND YOU ALSO WROTE THAT IN YOUR REPORTING, YOU FOUND THAT THE CITIZENRY REALLY LIKES THESE. >> THEY LOVE THEM. AND THAT'S ONE REASON THAT I THINK IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE, WE'RE LIKELY TO CONFRONT A PROPOSAL FROM A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE THAT WE BRING THE INITIATIVE PROCESS TO THE NATIONAL LEVEL. AND THAT'S ONE REASON I WROTE THIS BOOK, BECAUSE I THINK WE OUGHT TO LOOK CAREFULLY AT WHAT IS NOW HAPPENING IN THE STATES BEFORE WE MAKE THIS FATEFUL DECISION TO BRING THE INITIATIVE PROCESS TO THE NATIONAL LEVEL. >> DO YOU THINK WE'RE MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION? DOES YOUR GROUP SUPPORT THAT? >> WE LOOK AT THE NATIONAL INITIATIVE PROCESS. HOWEVER, THAT REQUIRES CONGRESS TO ACTUALLY LET THE PEOPLE HAVE IT. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SUPPORT TERM LIMITS AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES HAVE ESPOUSED TERM LIMITS, BUT CONGRESS IS NOT ABOUT TO IMPOSE TERM LIMITS ON THEMSELVES. I JUST DON'T SEE IT IN THE CARDS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO ALLOW THE PEOPLE THE NATIONAL INITIATIVE PROCESS. >> DO YOU THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA, THOUGH? >> I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE A NATIONAL CHECK AND BALANCE. NOW HOW EXACTLY IT'S STRUCTURED IS OPEN TO DEBATE, BUT I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE LOOKED AT. >> DO YOU THINK THERE'S A WAY TO REFORM THIS REFORM? >> THE COURTS HAVE BEEN VERY PROTECTIVE OF THE INITIATIVE PROCESS. THEY HAVE SAID UP TO THIS POINT, "YOU MAY NOT LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT IS CONTRIBUTED TO AN INITIATIVE CAMPAIGN OR THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT IS SPENT ON AN INITIATIVE CAMPAIGN. " THERE HAVE BEEN PROPOSALS FROM TIME TO TIME AT THE STATE LEVEL TO REGULATE THE CAMPAIGNS, BUT THE STATE LEGISLATORS THAT I TALKED TO, KNOWING THE POPULARITY OF THIS PROCESS, TEND TO BE, I THINK, FAIRLY CAUTIOUS ABOUT TRYING TO MEDDLE WITH IT BECAUSE THEIR CONSTITUENTS DON'T LIKE IT. >> ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANKS DAVID BRODER AND DANE WATERS. THANKS VERY MUCH. >> THANKS FOR HAVING US. >> FINALLY TONIGHT, ANOTHER POEM

The Sacramento Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/news/projects/initiatives/initiatives.html
In their series "Taking The Initiative," six reporters from The Sacramento Bee spent two months examining the history of the 1996 initiatives and the impact of those that passed.

The Nation
Two articles on the subject of vouchers from The Nation.
http://past.thenation.com/issue/990503/0503unz.shtml
http://past.thenation.com/issue/000605/0605miner.shtml
An editorial by Ron K. Unz that was published " " and " 's Vouching for Vouchers? No one really knows how children in Milwaukee' "

Intellectual Capital
http://www.intellectualcapital.com/issues/98/1015/icissue.asp
In this article ", " a look at ballot initiatives provides insight into the initiative process as a whole. There are three related articles on initiatives in the same cluster as well.

The New York Times
http://partners.nytimes.com/2000/10/10/politics/10SCHO.html
A recent New York Times article on Education Initiatives, " ' Ways." (Requires free registration.)