Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Ballot initiatives are voters’ best tactics, so use them

Opinion

Ballot initiatives are voters’ best tactics, so use them

"Ballot measures are not a replacement for representative government," writes Chris Melody Fields Figueredo.

Logan Mock-Bunting/Getty Images

On Thursday we published a countervailing view: "More ballot initiatives won't make Americans feel better about politics."

Fields Figueredo is executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, which analyzes and supports ballot measures.

Direct democracy finds its roots in ancient Greece, where at the inception, male citizens were able to participate in decision making. The word "democracy," or demos kratis, translates to "power of the people" in Greek.

Flash forward to the United States, where our representative democracy introduced the ballot initiative process to fight corporate excess during the progressive movement of the early 20th century. Since then, ballot measures became a key part of the democratic tradition in more than two dozen states as a check to endure the power of the people.

Over the years, however, big business has found ways to use the ballot initiative process to its advantage. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the ballot measure process was largely a tool of conservatives. The Ballot Initiative Strategy Center was founded during this period to fight conservative inroads at the ballot box. While in its early years, we were largely on the defensive, increasingly we are helping our partners used the ballot box to advance progressive change through ballot initiatives.


Direct democracy is healthy for America, and people should be encouraged to continue to practice it. While measures people support may not always win, direct democracy does not conflict with the government process and, in many ways, it is another form of checks and balances on lawmakers who don't have the people's interests as a priority.

Direct democracy gives a seat at the table to many communities who have been left out of the process. It gives them the opportunity to get their voices heard and enact change. Look at Amendment 4 in Florida, which has given the formerly incarcerated the right to vote. The measure not only had widespread support across party lines, but the people behind the effort were the very individuals impacted by the failure of elected officials to bring justice to people who had served their time.

People are demanding a different future, one that is equitable and just. You see it every day as people march in the streets and demand action on the enormous issues facing our communities. We share this call to action. We believe ballot measures can be a tool for progressive change.

We are proud of how we supported the remarkable ballot initiative wins in 2018. Voters stepped up and rebuked laws steeped in centuries of structural racism and white supremacy. In Louisiana voters stood up to a Jim Crow-era law that did not require unanimous jury verdicts for felony convictions. Voters also stood up for their neighbors, rejecting hate and bigotry at the ballot box in Oregon and Massachusetts.

BISC provided assistance to many of these initiatives including strategy, media training, research and experiments, fundraising, and long-term planning with an eye beyond the campaigns themselves. Our work didn't end after the votes were counted. This work laid the foundation to advance progressive policies for the future.

As we are building for the future, we must be one step ahead of our opposition. We must fight the legal and legislative challenges to our victories. As we continue to succeed we must expect more attacks on the ballot measure process itself. This year, we have seen an unprecedented amount of attacks on that process, with more than 120 pieces of legislation introduced to undermine the will of the people — more than the last two years combined.

We are also seeing a number of attacks on people's rights in 2019 and 2020 with proposed measures and several already on ballots. There are several measures that are anti-immigrant, put severe limits on reproductive rights and fail to address the gun violence epidemic. We are working hand-in-hand with partners to defeat these measures.

Just a few days ago, children not old enough to vote walked out of classrooms across the country to participate in the Climate Justice march, demonstrating that they will be champions for our environment throughout their lives. As a mother, I am convinced our children learn at an early age to question lawmakers, look for ways to make their communities better and speak out when they sense injustice. And while many cannot yet vote, it is our duty to listen and use every form of democracy to build a future where they thrive.

Ballot measures are not a replacement for representative government. We want a government that speaks for the people. But if they fail to listen, we will hold them accountable and ballot measures are one of many tools to do this. When ballot measures and government work together, we build people power and an equitable and just world.

Read More

Understanding the Debate on Health Secretary Kennedy’s Vaccine Panelists

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., January 29, 2025 in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

Understanding the Debate on Health Secretary Kennedy’s Vaccine Panelists

Summary

On June 9, 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), dismissed all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Secretary Kennedy claimed the move was necessary to eliminate “conflicts of interest” and restore public trust in vaccines, which he argued had been compromised by the influence of pharmaceutical companies. However, this decision strays from precedent and has drawn significant criticism from medical experts and public health officials across the country. Some argue that this shake-up undermines scientific independence and opens the door to politicized decision-making in vaccine policy.

Background: What Is ACIP?

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is a federal advisory group that helps guide national vaccine policy. Established in 1964, it has over 60 years of credibility as an evidence-based body of medical and scientific experts. ACIP makes official recommendations on vaccine schedules for both children and adults, determining which immunizations are required for school entry, covered by health insurance, and prioritized in public health programs. The committee is composed of specialists in immunology, epidemiology, pediatrics, infectious disease, and public health, all of whom are vetted for scientific rigor and ethical standards. ACIP’s guidance holds national weight, shaping both public perception of vaccines and the policies of institutions like schools, hospitals, and insurers.

Keep ReadingShow less
MQ-9 Predator Drones Hunt Migrants at the Border
Way into future, RPA Airmen participate in Red Flag 16-2 > Creech ...

MQ-9 Predator Drones Hunt Migrants at the Border

FT HUACHUCA, Ariz. - Inside a windowless and dark shipping container turned into a high-tech surveillance command center, two analysts peered at their own set of six screens that showed data coming in from an MQ-9 Predator B drone. Both were looking for two adults and a child who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and had fled when a Border Patrol agent approached in a truck.

Inside the drone hangar on the other side of the Fort Huachuca base sat another former shipping container, this one occupied by a drone pilot and a camera operator who pivoted the drone's camera to scan nine square miles of shrubs and saguaros for the migrants. Like the command center, the onetime shipping container was dark, lit only by the glow of the computer screens.

Keep ReadingShow less
A Trump 2020 flag outside of a home.

As Trump’s second presidency unfolds, rural America—the foundation of his 2024 election win—is feeling the sting. From collapsing export markets to cuts in healthcare and infrastructure, those very voters are losing faith.

Getty Images, ablokhin

Trump’s 2.0 Actions Have Harmed Rural America Who Voted for Him

Daryl Royal, the 20-year University of Texas football coach, once said, “You've gotta dance with them that brung ya.” The modern adaptation of that quote is “you gotta dance with the one who brought you to the party.” The expression means you should remain loyal to the people or things that helped you succeed.

Sixty-three percent of America’s 3,144 counties are predominantly rural, and Donald Trump won 93 percent of those counties in 2024. Analyses show that rural counties have become increasingly solid Republican, and Trump’s margin of victory within rural America reached a new high in the 2024 election.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hands Off Our Elections: States and Congress, Not Presidents, Set the Rules
white concrete dome museum

Hands Off Our Elections: States and Congress, Not Presidents, Set the Rules

Trust in elections is fragile – and once lost, it is extraordinarily difficult to rebuild. While Democrats and Republicans disagree on many election policies, there is broad bipartisan agreement on one point: executive branch interference in elections undermines the constitutional authority of states and Congress to determine how elections are run.

Recent executive branch actions threaten to upend this constitutional balance, and Congress must act before it’s too late. To be clear – this is not just about the current president. Keeping the executive branch out of elections is a crucial safeguard against power grabs by any future president, Democrat or Republican.

Keep ReadingShow less