Governing California: The Initiative Process

Michael Krasny

May 27, 2010 at

Save Article

Failed to save article

Please try again

We continue our special election-year “Governing California” series with a look at California’s initiative process. If you could take back one initiative that voters have passed — maybe even one you voted for — which would it be? We look back on the history of direct democracy in California, and discuss the successes and unintended consequences of our robust initiative process.

More: Governing California: Making Sense of Our State of Disarray – Homepage for KQED’s “Governing California” series
More: About the 2010 Global Forum on Direct Democracy – organized by Joe Mathews and featuring Bruno Kaufmann, at 2010GlobalForum.com

Guests:

Bruno Kaufmann, president of the Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe, a transnational think tank dedicated to research and education on the procedures and practices of modern direct democracy

Joe Mathews, senior fellow at the New America Foundation and contributing writer at the LA Times and the Daily Beast

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Irvine's School of Law

John Matsusaka, president of the Initiative and Referendum Institute and chair in American Enterprise in the Marshall School of Business at USC

Sponsored

lower waypoint

next waypoint

Dutch Research Team Recounts the Long-Term Effects of Starvation The Long Troubled History of US Immigration Detention and the Case for Ending It 'A Chance to Harmonize' Tells the Story of the U.S. Music Unit Here’s What to Do in the Bay Area This Summer California’s Budget Deficit is $45 Billion. What's Newsom's Plan to Fix It?Doing Democracy: Trump’s Rhetoric Raises Fears of an Authoritarian Second Term Tiffany Haddish Wants to ‘Curse You With Joy’Carvell Wallace Journeys Through Loss and Reunion in Memoir ‘Another Word for Love’In Transit: Amtrak's Future In California Can Fashion Be Sustainable?