Citizens in Charge Foundation News and Media

California: After 100 years, does CA's initiative process need a tune-up?

AmandaKathryn — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 21:03:30 -0400

Paul Jacob, president of Virginia-based Citizens in Charge Foundation, may be the fiercest defender of direct democracy in America. He’s helped organize more than 150 petition drives in 47 states, and feels so strongly about the righteousness of the initiative process that he risked going to prison by defying an Oklahoma law prohibiting the use of paid signature-gatherers in that state.

When Jacob comes to California, he feels right at home. He gives the state’s initiative process an A grade.

Poll Shows Voters Fooled on Prop 28

Paul — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:02:12 -0400

(Lake Ridge, VA) … Citizens in Charge Foundation, a national non-partisan, non-profit foundation, today released a poll of California voters that shows a complete reversal of public sentiment on Proposition 28, which appears on this year’s June 5 ballot, when voters are given additional information not available in the measure’s official ballot title, and the group called on the California Legislature to reform the ballot title process to prevent voters from being tricked.

ACLU of Michigan Wins National Award for Lawsuit Defending Petition Rights

Trevor — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:51:19 -0500

(LAKE RIDGE, VA) – Citizens in Charge Foundation, a national voter rights group focused on the ballot initiative and referendum process, presented the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan with the October 2011 John Lilburne Award for filing a lawsuit andcoming to the defense of Michigan citizens whose First Amendment petition rights were infringed upon by state and local government.

Institute for Justice Wins National Award for Lawsuit to Protect Recall Rights

Trevor — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:30:39 -0500

(LAKE RIDGE, VA) – Citizens in Charge Foundation, a national voter rights group focused on the ballot initiative and referendum process presented the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm, with the September 2011 John Lilburne Award for filing a lawsuit in Washington State earlier this year to protect the right of citizens to recall their elected officials.

Ballot Order Decided for Maine Initiatives

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:58:26 -0400

Secretary of State Charlie Summers held a public drawing today to determine the order of the citizen initiative questions that will appear on the November 8, 2011 Referendum Election ballot. The drawing was held in the Secretary of State’s office.

There will be two citizen initiative questions and one Constitutional resolution on the November 8, 2011 ballot.

Nebraska: Ruling Makes Ballot Fights A Bit Easier

AmandaKathryn — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:00:58 -0400

Remember the fight surrounding all those petitions urging people to recall Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle? Some said it was too easy to get all the signatures needed, others said it was too hard.

Well, for future fights, it just got easier…well a little easier.

A key part of the Nebraska law dealing with citizen based ballot issues — ranging from recalls to referendums — has been struck down.

California Gov. Brown Honored for Protecting Petition Rights

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:39:47 -0400

LAKE RIDGE, VA) - Today, Citizens in Charge Foundation, a national voter rights group focused on the ballot initiative and referendum process, presented California Gov. Jerry Brown with the August 2011 John Lilburne Award for protecting Californians’ right to petition by vetoing Senate Bill 168, which would have prohibited petition drives from paying petition circulators based on their productivity.

California: Crying Fire in a Crowded Democracy

AmandaKathryn — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:58:15 -0400

In the Dr. Seuss tale, the Grinch kept pressing himself, “I must find some way to keep Christmas from coming!” Then, the Grinch “got a wonderful awful idea.”

The same thing happened last week in California. A new Grinch-of-a-group with a shadowy identity started running a radio advertisement all across the state’s many expensive media markets. The apparent goal? To keep democracy from coming.

The group calls itself Californians Against Identity Theft (CAIT) and the radio spot is about identity theft. Well … sorta. Not really, though.

Maryland: Elections Board to Certify Dream Petition Signatures

AmandaKathryn — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:55:30 -0400

Proponents of an attempt to overturn a law granting in-state tuition to illegal immigrants have done what some observers predicted to be near impossible three months ago.

Petition drive organizers, led by Republican lawmakers, have gathered more than 100,000 valid signatures on their petition for referendum, which is expected to be certified by the state Board of Elections today, potentially marking the first such effort to reach the ballot in Maryland in a generation.

Missouri: Dog-breeding Law Catalyzes New Initiative

AmandaKathryn — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:52:21 -0400

During this year’s legislative session, Missouri lawmakers rewrote a voter-passed law regulating dog breeders. They also tried to meet a demand of business groups to eliminate cost-of-living increases in the voter-approved state minimum wage.

And since voters imposed strict campaign finance limits in 1994, lawmakers have twice acted to change those limits, including eliminating them entirely in 2006.

The routine rewriting of voter initiatives would end if a new initiative makes the 2012 ballot and wins approval.