Still Keeping the Faith: Asian Pacific Americans, Ballot Initiatives, and the Lessons of Negotiated Rulemaking

Abstract

Asian Pacific Americans (APA's) face a number of obstacles to obtaining proportionate electoral power in the United States. The author examines several factors that have contributed to the diminution of the APA political voice including the occupation of a smaller percentage of the political constituency, the absence of a strong national leader, language barriers, and the perpetuation of APA stereotypes. The author argues that the development of the ballot initiative as a significant law-making process has undercut APA political power even more. The author critiques the initiative process as shutting out minority interests while enhancing the discriminatory tendencies of the majority. The author proposes alternative law-making processes that focus on deliberative discussion and voting systems designed to increase minority representation.