Essay on The Meaning of Referendum

Arguably the most important referendum in Australia’s history occurred on May 27th 1967. This was the day that decided Indigenous Australians place in society, representing Aboriginal discrimination coming to an end. The vote was not about getting citizenship or voting right for the Aboriginals, it was targeted at making amendments to the constitution, allowing the Indigenous Australians to be counted in the Australian census and allowing Australian laws that included the Aboriginal Australians. The 1967 referendum had two sections requiring change, section 51 and 127. The eradication of all prejudice requirements within Commonwealth constitution was passed with voters support by the Australian body with an astonishing  90.77% of votes.

Another argument for direct democracy being used more widely in the UK is that it prevents the government and MPs making extremely unpopular decisions and ultimately, negatively impacting on the general public’s life. On many problems and issues it is particularly difficult for parliament to know which way to vote, additionally with many issues that require accurate public opinion and have considerable historical impact, for example, a constitutional change. Direct democracy not only evades and prevents detrimental decisions for the whole country, but it also aids the government and helps them to maintain their popularity and further circumvent an uprising or protest. An example of this in the past is the Referendum on the changing of the voting system in 2011. In the 2011 referendum it was decided by the people that this voting change was not wanted. Holding a referendum on this particularly issue prevented an unpopular decision that might have been made by the government alone. This is significant because the government’s popularity is

A major weakness of the referendum process it that that if the proposal is to complex or there is a number of proposals to be consider, voters are likely to struggle to understand the issue or be engage in the debate as it is too complex for them. It would create many people to be confused and therefore elect to vote No so that the constitution wouldn’t be changed as they are afraid what would happen in the future if there vote YES. On the other hand, a major strength of the process of referral

Another common criticism of the UK system is that, although most politicians are elected, many powerful people hold their positions without having to face the voters. Over the years criticism has focused on the House of Lords, the civil service and judges. While the people serving these positions may indeed be experts in their field, the citizens of the UK have absolutely no say in who is elected into these positions. This shows a problem in the United Kingdom’s democratic system and one that does not follow a representative democracy.

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,

Also, politicians may go against the wishes of the people, for example with the bedroom tax. There was a great deal of controversy associated with it, however the government still pursued it. If a referendum had been held, the opinions of the public on the matter may have been expressed, however one wasn’t held therefore this political action could be deemed as being undemocratic.

Voting has not always been as easy as it is today. It is interesting to examine how far America has progressed in its process of allowing different types of people to be able to vote. Voting was once aimed at a particular group of people, which were white males that owned their own property. Today, most people over the age of eighteen can vote, except for the mentally incompetent or people who have been convicted of major felonies in some states. The decline of voter participation has always been a debate in the public arena. According to McDonald and Popkin, it is “the most important, most familiar, most analyzed, and most conjectured trend in recent American political history (2001, 963)” The question is, how important is voter

Voting in many countries is held in different ways. In The United States of America, voting is voluntary while the Australian citizen has to vote, it is compulsory. When an Australian citizen does not vote they receive a fine. Compulsory voting has now become a large political issue for many countries. Great Britain has seen a dramatic decline in the number of people voting in the last 15 years (Singh, 2014) and compulsory voting has become a large political and social debate. However, as with any political change, there are strengths and weaknesses. The Australian system is an excellent one to analyse as the question has to be asked when introducing compulsory voting what are the long term democratic, economic and social issues? Four key points can be outlined to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the Australian compulsory voting system. The first, compulsory voting provides a clear and accurate representation of an entire electorate. Additionally, this system may influence an increase in support for the leftist policy in a current democratic institution. Another key issue to consider is, does an active and informed citizen have a moral duty and obligation to vote to protect and further society? Key constitutional changes brought about by referendums can prove that compulsory voting is essential and needed in society for every vote to count. Lastly, compulsory voting when being a secret ballot can turn into a more compulsory “turn up” for many citizens as they can

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

Many women and African American men had long dreamed to have the right to vote. In many states, they could only vote if their state allowed them the privilege. The dedicated men and women fought for their right to vote in the Civil Rights Movement in the early and mid 1900s. Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act to give African Americans the rights to vote. It would have not occurred if the Civil Rights Movement had not taken place. The Nineteenth Amendment would not have occurred either if not for the Civil Rights Movement. The freedom to vote is now held by a majority because of the fight by the people involved in the Civil Rights Movement, and the African Americans and women who fought for their right to

Industrial Countries all over the world have seen a steady decline in voter participation; Great Britain is a great example of this. The country has witness turnout in elections falling slowly as time pass. However, the election of 2001 dropped the country from their average of 76% voter turnout to just a 59.4% turnout. Comparatively, Australia, a former colony of Britain, has enjoyed high and steady voter participation since 1924 because of the implementation of compulsory voting. This system has proven to be not only effective in bring voters to the polls, but also effective in improving Australia’s democracy. By evaluating these two countries with similar political structure; one can see the difference in compulsory voting turnouts

The United States of America, almost since its conception, demonstrated a shining example of what a successful democracy should be. As citizens of a democratic country, we have the privilege to choose our leaders and the opportunity to have our voices heard. Many countries around the world operate by dictatorship or royal lineage. In these countries, citizens are not granted the freedom to elect officials. Often times, these people face grave consequences if they speak out against their leaders resulting in arrests or other penalties.

Moreover, even when looking at the people who did vote and the outcome which was achieved, referendums can never truly represent everyone and meet society’s needs as a whole. This is because although a majority of people voted a certain way, there is usually a very slim margin between this and the

A democracy is when the common people are considered as the primary source of political power. Although democracy and absolutism had advantages and disadvantages, democracy was a more effective type of government for it limited royal power and protected the rights of the people socially, politically, and economically. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, tension arose between the two different types of governments, the democracy and absolute monarchs.

The election process in the United States is a valuable process to the election of the proper officials to satisfy the people. The people run the country which is why we live in freedom because we control what happens with major decisions by choosing whom we want to decide these decisions. The whole country goes to vote on a certain day and by the end of that day we will vote to select who will run the country, state, county, or city political positions. The most complex decision and one with the biggest impact are selecting who the President of the United States shall be. We examine what their views are and who would do a better job. Then vote in our respected states with a certain number of electoral votes