America Needs Direct Democracy: The Impacts of Ballot Initiatives on Voter Turnout and Democratic Health

It's no secret that democracy in America is not in a good place right now. Among other things, we have a voting system that is designed to create a two-party duopoly, and to disenfranchise millions of voters, and we have a campaign finance system that allows the wealthy and powerful to give politicians who will support their agenda an unfair advantage. We can talk about reforms to these decrepit systems all we want, but none of them will address the root cause: the fact that Americans' rights and livelihoods are in the hands of a select few, many of whom do not represent them.

In a country where the overwhelming majority of Americans want universal health care, a living wage, and more policies that will fundamentally improve their lives and well-being, politicians in Washington are not acting on these issues, which has contributed, more so than anything else, to a democratic breakdown. As a result, voters in many states have used the initiative process to secure these rights at the ballot box. This book argues for bringing the initiative process to the national level, as a way for the voters to gain some control of lawmaking in order to benefit both their own livelihoods, as well as democracy in the U.S. as a whole.