Design, meaning and choice in direct democracy : the influences of petitioners and voters / Shauna Reilly.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [217]-229) and index.

Introduction to direct democracy and political comprehension -- Critical evaluation of citizen comprehension and direct democracy -- Theoretical foundations -- Petitioners and the Oregon process -- Petitioner attitudes and activities -- The impact of language on participation -- Topic selection and language barriers -- Individual votes : a preference voting experiment -- The future and consequences of comprehension on ballot propositions.

Design, Meaning and Choice in Direct Democracy examines the link between political knowledge and participation in direct democracy in the United States. Presenting insights on the different behaviours of the petitioner, the ballot and the voter and using quantitative, qualitative and experimental methodological approaches, Shauna Reilly evaluates the use of direct democracy and why, despite the power of these measures, there is such low turnout in these elections. She demonstrates the varied approaches to ballot measures and citizens particularly when dealing with citizen comprehension which can account for the variety of language that appears on the ballot. A rigorous and highly original analysis of direct democracy in the United States, this book guarantees that readers will be shocked at the findings and question the future of governance through ballot measures.