The voter as legislator.(Democratic Delusions: The Initiative Process in America By Richard J. Ellis) (book review)

Democratic Delusions: The Initiative Process in America By Richard J. Ellis. University Press of Kansas, 264 pages, $17.95

RICHARD ELLIS ALWAYS VOTES no. Since moving to Oregon in 1990 to teach political science at Willamette University, Ellis has been asked to pass judgment on 74 statewide initiatives, an average of more than 12 per election. Initiatives are proposed laws or constitutional amendments placed on a state's ballot by citizen petition (that's how they differ from referenda, which originate in the legislature). In the last decade alone, Oregonians have been required ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.