After years of fierce debate, the battle over whether to build casinos in Massachusetts is finally being taken to the people. Barbara Anderson is the executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation, a group that has pushed to get a number of initiatives on the ballot over the years. “We go in to vote, and we have to think about is ‘is this a good idea or is this a bad idea? Legislators, they have to think about all kinds of stuff when they’re voting. How does the leadership want me to vote, how can I trade this vote with somebody else’s vote, am I raising money on this issue and what side does the money want me to vote on,” Anderson said. The power to collectively make state law is not something all American voters have. Half the states in the union allow it. Half don’t. Remarkably, here in New England, the bastion of direct democracy, Maine is the only other state where it happens. “At least the voters have a voice. In other states there’s nothing they can do about anything except elect leaders who promise they will deal with these issues.”
The right of voters to make law was written into our state constitution in 1918, on a wave of populist reform. Sec of State William Galvin says it’s an important check on lawmakers, and a safety valve for voters. “It was meant as an adjunct to the power of the legislature – an alternative to the power of the legislature – so that people themselves could make laws.”
And Anderson points out that it’s mere existence has had a major impact on the way lawmakers do their job. “Even just threatening the initiative petition process – as the business community did this year on the Tech pacs, just the fact that it exists, makes a big difference in legislation even if it never even gets to the ballot.”
Full Article: Massachusetts Ballot Questions: Not Quite A Craps Shoot | WGBH News.