Referendum

In the most deplorable conditions imaginable. The referendum result enshrines the rule of the military junta in the constitution. From AP.

Here's a nice little slice of life piece on an effort by churches who oppose a local referendum to permit mixed drinks in their small North Carolina town of Troutman. This will be on today's ballot, along with the presidential primary.

The military junta running Myanmar (formerly Burma) has been slow in responding to the death and devastation caused by a tropical cyclone over the weekend. But even with much of the country in ruins, the junta is going forward with a sham referendum this Saturday, May 10, on a new constitution that will enshrine the dictatorship there.

Shane Goldmacher of the Sacramento Bee takes an excellent and thorough look at the phenomenon of California legislators opening ballot measure political accounts, through which they can accept contributions of unlimited amounts. He points out the potential for corruption from these donations, but also gives time to my view -- in fact, he quotes your blogger -- that with so many questions going to the ballot, legislators need these accounts to defend their policymaking. This is obviously not a good thing, and such accounts deserve the kind of scrutiny that the Bee is giving them. But you legislate with the system we have. What we need is a different system that fits direct democracy and the legislative process together in a smarter way. But how to do that?

Today voters in the Bolivian province of Santa Cruz overwhelmingly approved a measure providing for financial and security autonomy for the province. The country's president Evo Morales questioned the legality of the referendum and claimed that the measure had "failed." The conduct of Morales and his government fueled the referendum; the president has sought to nationalize industries in Santa Cruz as part of his goal of making the economy socialist. Morales called for talks with Santa Cruz and other provinces that are contemplating similar autonomy votes.

STRIKE TWO: Arkansas's attorney general, for the second time, has rejected the language of a ballot initiative filed to deny public benefits to unauthorized immigrants. The a.g. has said the language is ambiguous and that initiative sponsors need to hire an attorney; he suggested that he could substitute language himself, but after being criticized for his first rejection of the measure, he decided not to.

THESE COPS ARE MAD: Police officers in Monrovia, Calif are locked in a contract fight, and they've decided to use the ballot initiative process to help. They're circulating petitions on two local initiatives: one that would mandate they are paid at least the average salary of other local police departments, and another to prevent other city officials from making more than their counterparts in nearby municipalities. Also, they have posted billboards around town that read: "You're Approaching Monrovia. Higher Violent Crime. Fewer Officers Patrolling. Thank the City Manager and City Council." 

BURMESE MAY 10 REFERENDUM HAS AN INVITATION LIST: This video is a news report from Singapore, where citizens of Myanmar are lining up to vote at the country's embassy there. But it's not enough to be a Burmese citizen. This constitutional referendum offered by Myanmar's military junta is such a sham that it has an invitation list! And many of the Burmese lined up to vote -- and interviewed for this report -- aren't on it. 

UTAH FIGHT OVER POWER OF REFERENDUM, INITIATIVVE: A new Utah law, which goes into effect next month, would prevent local voters from making land-use decisions at the ballot. But a group in Sevier County, Utah is attempting to challenge the law -- and plans to build a coal-fired electricity plant in their community.

MORE FIXED THAN PUTIN: At an event on budget reform in Garden Grove Monday, gov. Schwarzenegger -- in answer to a question on his redistricting initiative -- talked about the lack of political compeititon. He repeated the statistic that out of 496 seats up for grabs in the last three election cycles in California, only four changed party hands. "Think about that," he said. "That's a fixed system. We always laugh at Putin in Russia when he has his elections. We say, 'This is ridiculous, it's fixed.' Ours is more fixed, I can guarantee you that. It is crazy." More fixed than Putin? Hard to judge. But on turnover, the governor has got a point, as seats in the Duma have changed party hands -- in large part because of Putin's strong-arming -- more often than California legislative and Congressional seats.

NO REVOCATION IN FLORIDA: A Florida appeals court ruled that voters cannot revoke their signatures on ballot initiative petitions. The court struck down as unconstitutional a 2007 on signature revocation, saying that such revocation was not part of the state constitution and could "serve to burden" the initiative process. The context: Florida, more than any other state, has taken measures to restrict direct democracy and signature gathering--this ruling could undermine part of that move.

For the first time since the debut of this blog, Al Qaeda makes direct democracy news. In his newest release (a Q&A this time, because, apparently, the consultants thought the whole straightforward crazy address thing wasn't working), Al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, denounces Hamas for contemplating a voter referendum on seeking peace with Israel.

"As for peace agreements with Israel, they [Hamas] spoke of putting it to a referendum despite considering it a breach of the Sharia (Islamic law)," Zawahiri is quoted as saying, according to a translation. "How can they put a matter that violates Sharia to a referendum?"

Assuming the question isn't rhetorical, I'll answer. The Palestinian government could simply hold a referendum. You don't need signatures. Circulating in Gaza and West Bank might be tough duty even for the most rough-and-tumble California petition circulators, though, for $5 a signature, a few would make the trip, I'm quite sure.