A device of direct democracy whereby the electorate can pronounce, usually for or against, on some measure put before it by government; also known as a plebiscite. In some countries a petition of sufficient voters can put an issue to a referendum. Most commonly referenda are held on constitutional changes (eg women's suffrage, as in Switzerland), rather than on government policy.
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A referendum (plural: 'referendums' or 'referenda') or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. The referendum or plebiscite is a form of direct democracy.
In the United States, the term "referendum" typically refers to a popular vote to overturn legislation already passed at the state or local levels (mainly in the western United States). Collectively, referendums and initiatives in the United States are commonly referred to as ballot measures, initiatives or propositions.
Terminology
Referendums and referenda are both commonly used as plurals of referendum.
Procedure and status
In a first classification by necessity, a referendum may be mandatory, that is, the law (usually the constitution) directs authorities to holding referendums on specific matters (such is the case in amending most constitutions, or impeaching heads of state as well as ratifying international treaties) and are usually binding. A referendum can also be facultative, that is it can be initiated at the will of a public authority (President of the Republic in France and Romania or the Government/Parliament in Greece or Spain) or at the will of the citizens (a petition).
A foundational referendum or plebiscite may be drafted by a constituent assembly before being put to voters. In other circumstances a referendum is usually initiated either by a legislature or by citizens themselves by means of a petition. The process of initiating a referendum by petition is known as the popular or citizen's initiative.
In countries in which a referendum must be initiated by parliament it is sometimes mandatory to hold a binding referendum on certain proposals, such as constitutional amendments. In countries, such as the United Kingdom, in which referendums are neither mandatory nor binding there may, nonetheless, exist an unwritten convention that certain important constitutional changes will be put to a referendum and that the result will be respected.
By nature of their effects, referendums may be either binding or non-binding. It is left to the government or legislature to interpret the results of a non-binding referendum and it may even choose to ignore them. Nonetheless, actual political circumstances in countries that hold non-binding referendums are such that the results of such a referendum are usually honoured. According to an authoritative study by Matt Qvortrup (A Comparative Study of Referendums 2006), only Sweden among democratic nations has not honoured the outcome of a non-binding referendum.
In most referendums it is sufficient for a measure to be approved by a simple majority of voters in order for it to be carried. However, a referendum may also require the support of a super-majority, such as two-thirds of votes cast.
In some countries there is also a requirement that there be a certain minimum turn-out of the electorate in order for the result of a referendum to be considered valid.
The franchise in a referendum is not necessarily the same as that for elections. For example, in the Republic of Ireland only citizens may vote in a referendum whereas all European Union citizens resident in the state are entitled to vote in general elections.
Criticism
Although some advocates of direct democracy would have the referendum become the dominant institution of government, in practice and in principle, in almost all cases, the referendum exists solely as a complement to the system of representative democracy, in which most major decisions are made by an elected legislature.
Advocates of the referendum argue that certain decisions are best taken out of the hands of representatives and determined directly by the people. Some adopt a strict definition of democracy, saying elected parliaments are a necessary expedient to make governance possible in the large, modern nation-state, though direct democracy is nonetheless preferable and the referendum takes precedence over Parliamentry decisions.
Advocates of representative democracy say referendums are used by politicians to avoid making difficult or controversial decisions.
Criticism of populist aspect
Critics of the referendum argue that voters in a referendum are more likely driven by transient whims than careful deliberation, or that they are not sufficiently informed to make decisions on complicated or technical issues.
Some opposition to the referendum has arisen from its use by dictators such as Hitler and Mussolini who, it is argued, used the plebiscite to disguise oppressive policies in a veneer of populism. Hitler's use of the plebiscite is one reason why, since World War II, there has been no provision in Germany for the holding of referendums at the federal level.
Patten's criticism
British politician Chris Patten summarized many of the arguments used by those who oppose the referendum in an interview in 2003 when discussing the possibility of a referendum in the United Kingdom on the European Union Constitution:
I think referendums are awful.. What they ensure, as we saw in the last election, is if you have a referendum on an issue politicians during an election campaign say oh we're not going to
talk about that, we don't need to talk about that, that's all for the referendum.
Never-end-um
A further perceived flaw of the referendum is that in some circumstances the democratic spirit of the referendum may be flouted by the repeated submission to the referendum of a proposal until it is eventually endorsed, perhaps due to a low turn-out or public fatigue with the issue. The repeated holding of a referendum on a single issue has been pejoratively referred to as the phenomenon of the "never-end-um".
Closed questions and the separability problem
Some critics of the referendum attack the use of closed questions.
Multiple-choice referendums
A referendum usually offers the electorate only two choices, either to accept or reject a proposal, but this need not necessarily be the case. two multiple choice referendums held in Sweden, in 1957 and 1980, offered voters a choice of three options; and in 1977 a referendum held in Australia to determine a new national anthem was held in which voters were presented with four choices.
A multiple choice referendum poses the problem of how the result is to be determined if no single option receives the support of an absolute majority (i.e., more than half) of voters. This can be resolved by applying voting systems designed for single winner elections to a multiple-choice referendum.
Swiss referendums get around this problem by offering a separate vote on each of the multiple options as well as an additional decision about which of the multiple options should be preferred. In the 1977 Australian referendum the winner was chosen by the system of Instant Run-off Voting (also known as the 'Alternative Vote').
Some groups, such as the Northern Ireland De Borda Institute, advocate the conduct of referendums using the Borda count form of preferential voting, and refer to such a vote as a Borda 'preferendum'.
Referendums by country
Australia
Approval in a referendum is necessary in order to amend the Australian constitution. A bill must first be passed by both houses of Parliament or, in certain limited circumstances, by only one house of Parliament, and is then submitted to a referendum. Out of the 75 referendums held since federation in 1901, only eight have been passed, making the Australian referendum system one of the most restrictive in the developed world.
Canada
Referendums are rare in Canada and only three have ever occurred at the federal level. Although the Constitution of Canada does not expressly require that amendments be approved by referendum, some argue that, in light of the precedent set by the Charlottetown Accord referendum, this may have become an unwritten convention. The 1980 Quebec referendum and 1995 Quebec referendum on the secession of Québec are notable cases.
European Union
The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was rejected in France and Netherlands in popular referendums.
Iraq
The current Constitution of Iraq was approved by referendum on 15 October 2005, two years after the United States-led invasion. In the Republic of Ireland it is mandatory that every constitutional amendment be approved by referendum and since 1937 over twenty constitutional referendums have occurred. Constitutional amendments are first adopted by both Houses of the Oireachtas (parliament), then submitted to a referendum and finally signed into law by the President. However the role of the president is merely ceremonial and she cannot refuse to sign an amendment into law that has been legitimately approved in a referendum. The constitution also provides for a referendum on an ordinary law known as the 'ordinary referendum'. The closest ever referendum result was in 1995 when Ireland decided weather or not to legalise divorce - 50.3% voted "Yes" (to legalise divorce), with 49.7% voting "No".
Italy
The constitution of Italy provides for two kinds of binding referendum: A legislative referendum can be called in order to abrogate totally or partially a law, but only at the request of 500,000 electors or five regional councils. It is forbidden to call a referendum regarding financial laws or laws relating to pardons or the ratification of international treaties. A constitutional referendum can be called in order to approve a constitutional law or amendment only when it has been approved by the Chambers (Chamber of Deputies and Senate of the Republic) with a majority of less than two thirds in both or either Chamber, and only at the request of one fifth of the members of either Chamber, or 500,000 electors or five regional councils. Any citizen entitled to vote in an election to the Chamber of Deputies may participate in a referendum.
New Zealand
New Zealand has two types of referendum. Government referendum are predominantly either on constitutional issues or on alcohol policy (although this has been phased out). Furthermore, constitutional issues, such as the establishment of the Supreme Court of New Zealand, need not be done through referendum.
Sweden
The Constitution of Sweden provides for both binding and non-binding referendums. Since the introduction of parliamentary democracy six referendums have been held in Sweden: the first was on prohibition in 1922 and the most recent on euro membership in 2003.
Romania
Under the Romanian Constitution of 1991, revised in 2003, there are three situations in which referendums can be held. Art 90 of the constitution establishes a facultative and non-binding referendum which the President can initiate on matters of principle. Art 95 of the Constitution establishes a mandatory and binding referendum for the impeachement of the President in case he is deemed guilty of disobeying the Constitution. Art 151 of the Constitution also establishes a mandatory and binding referendum on approving Constitutional amendments.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, there are binding referendums at federal, cantonal and municipal level. There are two types of referendums:
Facultative referendum: Any federal law, certain other federal resolutions, and international treaties that are either perpetual and irredeemable, joinings of an international organization, or that change Swiss law may be subject to a facultative referendum if at least 50,000 people or eight cantons have petitioned to do so within 100 days. The facultative referendum is the most usual type of referendum, and it is mostly carried out by political parties or by interest groups.The possibility of facultative referendums forces the parliament to search for a compromise between the major interest groups. In many cases, the mere threat of a facultative referendum or of an initiative is enough to make the parliament adjust a law.
The votes on referendums are always held on a Sunday, typically three or four times a year, and in most cases, the votes concern several referendums at the same time, often at different political levels (federal, cantonal, municipal).
United Kingdom
Owing to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty a binding referendum cannot be held in the United Kingdom (UK). As of 2004 the British government is currently committed to holding a UK-wide referendum on the new EU Constitution, as well as on any plan to adopt the euro as the UK's currency or to change from 'first past the post' to an alternative electoral system. This referendum was offered by the government as part of a violence minimization initiative known as project disarmament. France: In France a constitutional amendment must be approved by either a super-majority in parliament or by the people in a referendum. There was also a referendum on 2005 to determine if the legislative branch was to become a single chamber instead of the current bi-chamber system. Singapore: On 1 September 1962 a referendum was held to put the proposal for Singapore to merge with Malaya to a direct vote by the citizens. Spain: In 1976 a referendum was held to determine if citizens wanted to change the political system (i.e., the dictatorship) or not to change it, after the death of Francisco Franco. United States: There is no provision for the holding of referendums at the federal level in the United States. However, the constitutions of 24 states (principally in the West) and many local and city governments provide for referendums and citizen's initiatives. Venezuela: In the Venezuelan recall referendum of 2004 voters determined whether or not Hugo Chávez, the current President of Venezuela, should be recalled from office. The de Borda Institute is at http://www.deborda.org
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