The Effects of Initiatives On Voter Turnout: a Comparative State Analysis

Abstract

written that "millions of Americans may fail to become actively involved in the political process simply because they do not feel that there are adequate opportunities presently available to express their sentiments or to make their influence felt."1 Recently, there has been a movement to establish, by constitutional amendment, a national initiative which would allow citizens to propose and vote on legislation.2 One byproduct of such a reform could be increased voter involvement and participation. Of course, the U.S. has extensive experience with initiatives at the state level. This experience might give some clues to the answer to the question of whether a national initiative might spur citizen sense of involvement and therefore have a positive impact on voter turnout. This paper addresses that question via an analysis of the effects of initiatives in the states on voter turnout from 1960 to 1978.