Referendum

In the final hours of its session, the Arizona legislature voted to put a measure on the November ballot that would ban gay marriage. Californians will vote on a similar initiative. The Arizona's measures prospects are considered poor, however; the state already voted down a measure that would have banned gay marriage two years ago. (That measure was harsher, though--it would have banned the state and local governments from offering domestic partnership benefits).

With state school funding lagging, local communities in Minnesota are passing school referenda to augment school funds. How many communities are acting? According to this piece, 87 percent of Minnesota schools currently have a special funding referendum in place. The U.S. may still be a republic on the federal level, but at the state and especially the local level, we rule ourselves directly and democratically.

There may be no more basic or more profound political mistake than to criticize your own constituents on an issue immediately after they have overwhelmingly voted on that issue. But that's what Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis did, suggesting that the 72 percent of voters who supported a library expansion referendum there had done some Kool-Aid drinking. He attemps to explain here.

Partial results show a big victory for those supporting "autonomy" for the gas-rich province of Tarija. It's the fourth Bolivian province to vote for autonomy from the central government this year. A recall vote on President Evo Morales is scheduled for August. Morales says that, if he survives the recall, he will push for a new constitution that would put more power in the hands of the central government. Given Bolivia history, it's possible that in that country, these autonomy referenda aer serving as a prelude to civil war.

We Irish so often are.... This column from the Guardian makes a good point. By attacking the irish vote against the Lisbon Treaty and so quickly demanding a new referendum, European Unoin leaders probably have hardended Irish attitudes against the treaty, which represents a backdoor way to impose a new constitution in Europe. A better approach would be to respond to Irish concerns, amend the treaty, and then, humbly, try again.

GOLAN REFERENDUM? The Israeli Knesset has advanced a bill to hold a national referendum on handing over any land in the Golan Heights.

SARKOZY TO MEND IRISH FENCES: The French president, and incoming EU president, is planning a July trip to Dublin to mend fences after voters defeated the Lisbon Treaty, which would have brought the EU closer together, in a referendum earlier this month. Sarkozy, not exactly a diplomat, may be the wrong messenger , however; he's already taking shots at EU officials he blames for the Irish vote. The reaction of EU leaders to this defeat is hysterical. There's a huge amount of hang-wringing about what went wrong, but no one seems to consider the simple idea that Irish voters didn't like the treaty.

MACEDONIA NAME REFERENDUM: Macedonia's prime minister is moving forward with a public referendum on the country's name. No word yet on specific name. My suggestion would be to recycle the best of the five names that were considered for a new San Fernando Valley city in the 2001 Los Angeles referendum on valley secession. (The secession effort failed, so it turned out there was no new city to name). That name? Camelot.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW TO RUN A BALLOT MEASURE CAMPAIGN.... Read this post from Wayne Pacelle, of the Humane Society of the United States, at California Majority Report. 

ANOTHER CALIFORNIA PARCEL TAX: One of the handful of taxes California cities can raise is the parcel tax. With the state budget in crisis, more and more city governments are asking the voters to endorse parcel tax hikes to pay for police officers. The latest city to make the ask is Oakland.

SICK IN OHIO? An Ohio ballot initiative, currently on the street, would require companies to provide seven days of paid sick leave. But Gov. Ted Strickland may be trying to forge a compromise before the initiative reaches the ballot, according to a leading legislator.

THE DOGS HAVE IT: A measure to ban greyhound racing in Massachusetts appears to have enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

Writing in the Financial Times, two U.S.-based academics outline their idea for reforming referenda: "deliberative polling," including a national day of deliberation before the vote. The context of the piece is the Irish referendum and Europe, though it could apply here if reformers could overcome the inevitable snickering. (Hat tip to my New America colleague Mark Schmitt).

While Europe watches nervously. Here's an informative Q&A from the Guardian explaining the details.

Today is the day of the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, the backdoor new constitution -- though it can't be called a new constitution because that would require too many other public votes -- being adopted by the EU. There are 27 countries that signed the treaty. But only in Ireland do the people get to vote on it. So the Irish have outsized power today -- they are the voice of the people of Europe. If they vote the treaty down, they can scuttle the whole thing.

The political leadership of the country supports the treaty. But nationalists think it infringes on sovereignty. And Irish farmers, one of the few industries that the EU hasn't benefited, are leading the charge against it. Polls suggest the treaty is in trouble--the final results are likely to be close.

In the Connecticut town of Avon, voters have the right to hold as many as three separate referenda on the town budget before officials can enact a spending plan themselves. This spring, voters have used the referendum twice -- twice, in fact, in the past three weeks -- to vote down the town government's proposed budget. A third referendum is scheduled for June 25.