• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up

David J. Toscano

    FollowUnfollowFollowing
    State

    Direct democracy proves too scary for red state legislatures; so, they change the rules

    David J. Toscano
    May 04, 2023
    Direct democracy proves too scary for red state legislatures; so, they change the rules
    Getty Images

    David J. Toscano is an attorney and a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates. He is the author of Fighting Political Gridlock: How States Shape Our Nation and Our Lives, University of Virginia Press, 2021, andBellwether: Virginia’s Political Transformation, 2006-2020, Hamilton Books, 2022.

    Sometimes, the people want change so much that they resort to other measures that bypass their elected representatives. So goes the rationale for the direct democracy concept called “initiative and referendum,” a process by which citizens in various states can collect enough signatures to place proposals to change state constitutions or statutes directly before the people for a vote. Presently, 26 states include an initiative process in their constitutions, including 18 that permit direct amendments to their constitution. While South Dakota was the first to adopt this approach in 1898, most enacted these provisions in the early part of the 1900s.

    Keep ReadingShow less
    state government

    Join an Upcoming Event

    View All Events
    State

    The fight for democracy: Five reasons to focus on the states

    David J. Toscano
    April 11, 2022
    Critical race theory protest

    People gather for a rally against the teaching of critical race theory in Loudoun County, Va., in June. It is one of the most contentious education issues in the states right now.

    Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

    Toscano is a former minority leader in the Virginia House of Delegates. He is the author of “Fighting Political Gridlock: How States Shape Our Nation and Our Lives.”

    The 2020 election again showed that we are in the fight of our lives. Donald Trump was dispatched, but not without efforts to overturn a democratic result while undermining the legitimacy of elections themselves. Democrats won the presidency, but actually lost seats in state legislatures. Some new officeholders openly embraced the “stop the steal” narrative. A recent NPR/Ipsos poll reports that 64% of Americans believe U.S. democracy is "in crisis and at risk of failing." And the public remains focused on a federal system that appears dysfunctional and mired in partisan gridlock.

    But as the public’s gaze remains fixed on Washington, major decisions affecting control of the nation and the quality of our lives are being made in each of the 50 states. Democracy is up for grabs. Voting rights are under attack in many states, and hyperpartisan redistricting continues to manufacture majorities by shaping state legislatures and congressional delegations. But state policies influence us in so many other ways.

    Keep ReadingShow less
    state government
    Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
    Confirm that you are not a bot.
    ×
    Follow
    Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
    Confirm that you are not a bot.
    ×
    Follow
    Contributors

    Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

    Layla Zaidane

    Two technology balancing acts

    Dave Anderson

    Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

    Jeremy Gruber

    Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

    Kevin Johnson

    Democrats and Republicans want the status quo, but we need to move Forward

    Christine Todd Whitman

    Reform in 2023: Building a beacon of hope in Boston

    Henry Santana
    Jerren Chang
    latest News

    Video: Honoring Memorial Day

    Our Staff
    26 May

    Your Take on congressional incivility

    Lennon Wesley III
    26 May

    White House plan to combat antisemitism needs to take on centuries of hatred, discrimination and even lynching in America

    Pamela Nadell
    26 May

    Shifting the narrative on homelessness in America

    David L. Nevins
    26 May

    Supreme Court math: 3x3=5

    Lawrence Goldstone
    25 May

    Want young people to vote in NY? Open the primaries.

    Christina Roggenkamp
    25 May
    Videos

    Video: #ListenFirst Friday YOUnify & CPL

    Our Staff

    Video: What is the toll of racial violence on Black lives?

    Our Staff

    Video: What's next for migrants seeking asylum after Title 42

    Our Staff

    Video: An inside look at the campaign to repeal Pennsylvania’s closed primaries

    Our Staff

    Video: Where the immigration debate stands today

    Our Staff

    Video: Bridging divides in the workplace

    Our Staff
    Podcasts

    Podcast: AI revolution: Disaster or great leap forward?

    Our Staff
    25 May

    Podcast: Can we fix America's financial crises?

    Our Staff
    23 May

    Podcast: Gen Z's fight for democracy

    Our Staff
    22 May

    Podcast: Political Football, Inc.

    Our Staff
    19 May
    Recommended
    Video: Honoring Memorial Day

    Video: Honoring Memorial Day

    Test Unlisted
    Your Take on congressional incivility

    Your Take on congressional incivility

    Your Take
    White House plan to combat antisemitism needs to take on centuries of hatred, discrimination and even lynching in America

    White House plan to combat antisemitism needs to take on centuries of hatred, discrimination and even lynching in America

    Government
    Video: #ListenFirst Friday YOUnify & CPL

    Video: #ListenFirst Friday YOUnify & CPL

    Shifting the narrative on homelessness in America

    Shifting the narrative on homelessness in America

    Test Unlisted
    Supreme Court math: 3x3=5

    Supreme Court math: 3x3=5

    Government