All states in this great nation have three basic branches of government known as the executive, legislative, and the judicial branch. California is no different. The Governor, Jerry Brown heads up the executive branch as a face for the people of California (California, 2013). Now we will look at the type of democracy that truly sets California aside from other states, direct democracy.
With a general overview, a direct democracy is a broad term that encompasses an assortment decision processes, including town meeting, recall elections, initiatives, and referendums. The referendum is a process that allows the citizens to approve or reject laws of constitutional amendments proposed by the government. On the opposite side of a referendum, an initiative is the proposal of a new law or constitutional amendment by the ordinary citizens to the state government. No more than half of the states offer options of either, with twenty-five states offering popular referendum and only eight-teen states offering a recall (Bowman, 2012, p.82) This is what sets California apart from many of the other states that do not allow recall or initiatives.
While initiatives can be a great thing,
Direct democracy has given Californians a since of freedom and choice for who runs their state. You could see this advantage/disadvantage (based on personal opinion) in 2003. In 2003, the governor of California, Govenor Gray Davis was removed from office by a recall (Bowman, 2012, p 85). The states budget
Direct democracy helped the Athenians to progress intellectually, expanded their minds, and cultural perception. Aspiring to the Athenians, the United States followed in their footsteps and started a direct democracy in the 1630s to strive to achieve a balanced land.
Direct democracy is a form of government in which all laws are created by a general vote of society. This means that political decisions are put forward to the people as they are the ones who are going to be directly affected by the outcome of the decision. An example of direct democracy used occasionally in society is referendums. A referendum is a general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision. Within this essay I am going to be arguing whether direct democracy should be used more widely by weighing up the
The pros of the recall of elected officials is that “it provides a way for citizens to retain control over elected officials who are not representing the best interests of their constituents, or who are unresponsive or incompetent” (Recall of State Officials, 2013, September 11). This gives us “we the people” an opportunity to help out our state and the citizens within it. It gives us a voice. Now why giving the power directly to the people in should regards to referendum and how will it benefit our society? Referendums allow “citizens to determine policy directions on particular issues and to make and repeal laws by a direct vote of the people” (Gallop, L., 2007). A referendum gives the people the right for constitutional change and state referendums especially when it comes to social issues. In addition, the government should give the power to the people on the right to initiative because it will benefit our society. Initiatives, now permitted by 24 states, have been particularly prominent in the West, having been utilized more than 300 times as a part of Oregon, more than 250 times in California, and very nearly 200 times in Colorado. A wide range of issues have showed up on the vote in the different states, including regulation of professions and organizations, against smoking enactment, vehicle protection rates, premature birth rights,
Direct democracy can be defined as a system of democracy in which citizens participate in the majority of legislation; therefore, granting them political self-determination. A representative democracy (also indirect democracy) is a form of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people. A direct democracy has leaders that are chosen specifically by “The People”. There is no Electoral College, or elected officials, to cast the votes of the people, the people cast their own direct votes.
The issue of direct democracy was another important question during the election of 1912. Direct democracy concerned whether to expand the United States’ rule of democracy. Under the established democratic system, the people had very little active participation. However, the newly found ideals of direct democracy called for the “people to rule,” thereby increasing their role in the American government. Direct democracy included many ideas, but among the most important were the ideas of initiative, referendum, and recall. The initiative allowed a group of voters who obtained a certain number of signatures on a
Direct Democracy is defined by people as a whole who make direct decisions, rather than having decisions made by other representatives. In Madison’s Federalist No.10 he states, “a pure democracy can admit of no cure for the mischief’s of factions
Because of the principles of direct democracy, the Arizona’s Constitution was created. With direct democracy citizens were responsible for governing themselves, not the elected representatives. America’s founders felt that direct democracy was impractical and unwise when they wrote the United Constitution in 1787. Although, the Progressive movement believed the government was no good and the only way to restore a fair government was to give power to the citizens. They struggle for the adoption of the initiative, citizens did not have to get permission from officials establish their own statues and constitutional measures; they needed 15% vote to get on ballot. Adoption of referendum, citizens could reject statues and constitutional measures adopted by official; they needed majority vote by Legislature to get on ballot, with the adoption of recall, official could be removed from office before the end of their term; they needed 25% to call a recall election. Finally, at the peak of the Progressive Movement Arizona became a state. The reasons the
The state of California was admitted into the Union in 1850 and has since grown into one of the largest economies in the world. Today, California is one of the most popular states in the union, attracting thousands of tourists every year. The California state constitution is one of the oldest state constitutions that is still in use. California has two constitutions: one ratified prior to their admittance into the union on November 13, 1849 and the current constitution, ratified on May 7, 1879 (Georgetown Law). Since its ratification, the document has been amended over 500 times. Compared to the federal government, the California constitution is also a representative democracy, electing governors, representatives, and senators to interpret and pass laws. Through the numerous amendments and the structure of government, California has proved to be a democratic institution. In this report, I will argue that the California Constitution is too democratic among its citizens. This does/doesn’t lead to ________.
Referendum: Referendum is defined as the procedure enabling voters to reject a measure passed by the legislature. Referendum can also be defined as when the citizens or the people of a state choose to petition in order to repeal or nullify an act or bill that was passed by the legislature. A referendum can also be defined as vote to on a question on a ballot. A referendum is related to an initiative in that both begin by petitions. There are two types of referendum, the first type is legislature referendum and the second is popular referendum. Legislature referendum is when the legislature presents something to the voters on the ballot that needs their approval. Popular referendum is when something appears on the ballot due to the voter’s motivation to petition, it is a common view among the majority of the people. An example of referendum
Headed by the governor of the state, the state govt. of CA replicates the Federal govt. It has three branches that perform their assigned tasks and keep within the limits set by the constitution. These branches are:
The 19th amendment was the true beginning of the women's fight for their rights, because the right to vote provides a powerful voice. In the twenties, women were discriminated - sadly, they still are - so society didn't let them vote. However, women didn't accept it, and they began to fight for their right to vote. Senator Aaron A. Sargent introduced the Nineteenth Amendment to the Congress, which prohibited denying the right of vote to U.S. citizens based on their sex. In 1919, the Congress passed the amendment, and in 1920 it was ratified. Today, women not only can vote, but they also have participation on the government, for example Madeleine Albright. She was the first woman that became the Secretary of States on the United States. Even
While there are many amendments to the U.S. Constitution that have impacted our society and nation, I believe that the 19th amendment to the Constitution is one of the most important events in our history. The 19th amendment states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” (1) There are several reasons why I find this amendment to be important, and I will discuss each point. Women have been fighting in our armed forces since the civil war. Women helped colonize the United States. Women are the backbone of our society.
The right to vote for American citizens is the fifteen amendment of the United States constitution. In this amendment, no citizen may be deny to vote base on color or race. For this, many more citizens of the United States are able to vote, even if they are a minority. However, the United States does not have a high turnout rate on elections. As a result, voter participation has an effect on public policies; additionally, Americans do not have a strong ethical duty to vote. Therefore, politicians have the power to change concepts in the government. Nonetheless, Americans do not make voting a larger concern as other citizens from other country to vote.
There are also some pros to having a direct democracy, when the people want to see change, they appeal and they vote. Which would truly be a government “for the people, by the people”, protecting our interests. There is a “checks-and-balances” system that makes sure the power gets distributed. Democracy also promotes equality, allows for change, doesn't put too much power in the hands
Some of the major features in a direct democracy are that the people get to directly elect things such as the president or for laws to be passed or not. The big advantages of a direct democracy are that voting takes much less time as it is just a vote among all the citizens, people see the the changes they voted for take effect faster, and people feel like their vote is valued and powerful. The downsides to a direct democracy are that sometimes the popular vote isn't always the right vote and people realize that after it's too late to change what they did. Around the time of the American Revolution the majority of people were considered, “too uneducated to govern themselves” (Schmidt, et al, 5). When our constitution was being written many of the founding fathers did not believe that the common people were ready to govern themselves, so they set up a representative democracy instead of a direct democracy. James Madison thought that if we did implement a direct democracy it would, “deteriorate into mob rule” (Schmidt,et al, 5).