Expanding Citizen-Led Policy
Amid deepening political dysfunction and distrust, ballot initiatives offer a time-tested mechanism for democratic correction. At the state level, these citizen-led ballot measures—sometimes referred to as direct democracy or initiative and referendum (I&R)—allow voters to propose and vote on legislation or constitutional amendments, bypassing state legislatures when necessary to advance policies with broad public support.
Expanding Citizen-Led Policy, a project of New America’s Political Reform program, maps the uneven landscape of citizen-led policymaking in the United States, evaluates the feasibility and advantages of expanding ballot initiative processes to more states, and identifies strategic paths reformers might take toward that goal.
