Hostname: page-component-5cf477f64f-2wr7h Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-06T14:27:29.742Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Enhancing Civic Engagement: The Effect of Direct Democracy on Political Participation and Knowledge

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Caroline J. Tolbert ,
Ramona S. McNeal  and
Daniel A. Smith
Caroline J. Tolbert
Affiliation:
Kent State University
Ramona S. McNeal
Affiliation:
Kent State University
Daniel A. Smith
Affiliation:
University of Denver
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

What is the impact of direct democracy on citizens' political participation and knowledge? Progressive Era reformers and normative theorists have argued that institutional procedures allowing citizens a more direct role in government decision-making will increase civic engagement, broadly defined. Using American National Election Studies data for 1996, 1998, and 2000, we test this hypothesis. Our multivariate analysis suggests that exposure to ballot initiatives increases the probability of voting, stimulates campaign contributions to interest groups, and enhances political knowledge. However, we find that the impact of the initiative process on political participation and knowledge varies with electoral context.

Type
Other
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , March 2003 , pp. 23 - 41
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 The American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramson, Paul, Aldrich, John, and Rohde, David. 1998. Change and Continuity in the 1996 Elections. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Allswang, John. 2000. The Initiative and Referendum in California, 1898-1998. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Alvarez, Michael, and Nagler, Jonathan. 2000. “The Likely Consequences of Internet Voting for Political Representation.” Presented at the Loyola Law School Internet Voting and Democratic Symposium, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Barnett, James. 1915. The Operation of the Initiative and Referendum in Oregon. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Beard, Charles, and Schultz, Birl. 1912. Documents on the Statewide Initiative, Referendum and Recall. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Bell, Derrick. 1978. “The Referendum: Democracy's Barrier to Racial Equality.” Washington Law Review 54:1–29.Google Scholar
Bennett, Lance. 1998. “The UnCivic Culture: Communication, Identity, and the Rise of Lifestyle Politics.” Political Science & Politics 31:741–761.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boehmke, Fredrick. 2002. “The Influence of Direct Democracy on the Size and Diversity of State Interest Group Populations.” Journal of Politics 64:827–844.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barber, Benjamin. 1984. Strong Democracy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Bone, Hugh, and Benedict, Robert. 1975. “Perspectives on Direct Legislation.” Western Political Quarterly 28:330–351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowler, Shaun, and Donovan, Todd. 1998. Demanding Choices: Opinion, Voting and Direct Democracy. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowler, Shaun, and Donovan, Todd. 2002. “Democracy, Institutions and Attitudes about Citizen Influence on Government.” British Journal of Political Science 32:371–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowler, Shaun, Donovan, Todd, and Tolbert, Caroline. 1998. Citizens as Legislators: Direct Democracy in the United States. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.Google Scholar
Broder, David. 2000. Democracy Derailed: Initiative Campaigns and the Power of Money. New York: Harcourt Brace Publishers.Google Scholar
Budge, Ian. 1996. The New Challenge of Direct Democracy. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers.Google Scholar
Burnham, Walter Dean. 1982. The Current Crisis in American Politics. New York: W. W. Norton.Google Scholar
Campbell, Angus, Converse, Philip, Miller, Warren, and Stokes, Donald. 1960. The American Voter. New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Chaffee, Steven, and Schleuder, Joan. 1986. “Measurement and Effects of Attention to Media News.” Human Communication Research 13:76–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chavez, Lydia. 1998. The Color Bind: California's Battle to End Affirmative Action. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Citrin, Jack. 1996. “Who's the Boss? Direct Democracy and Popular Control of Government.” In Broken Contract?, Craig, Stephen, ed. Boulder, CO: Westview.Google Scholar
Converse, Philip. 1964. “The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics.” In Ideology and Discontent, Apter, David, ed. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Craig, Steven, Kreppel, Amie, and Kane, James. 2001. “Public Opinion and Direct Democracy: A Case Study.” In Referendum Democracy: Citizens, Elites, and Deliberation in Referendum Campaigns, Mendelsohn, Matthew and Parkin, Andrew, eds. New York: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Cree, Nathan. 1892. Direct Legislation by the People. Chicago: McClurg.Google Scholar
Cronin, Thomas. 1989. Direct Democracy: The Politics of Initiative, Referendum and Recall. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahl, Robert. 1961. Who Governs? New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Delli Carpini, Michael, and Keeter, Scott. 1993. “Measuring Political Knowledge: Putting First Things First.” American Journal of Political Science 37:1179–1206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delli Carpini, Michael, and Keeter, Scott. 1996. What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Dryzek, John. 1990. Discursive Democracy: Politics, Policy and Political Science. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dryzek, John. 2000. Deliberative Democracy and Beyond: Liberals, Critics and Contestations. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ellis, Richard. 2002. Democratic Delusions: The Initiative Process in America. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
Elster, Jon, ed. 1998. Deliberative Democracy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Everson, David. 1981. “The Effects of Initiatives on Voter Turnout: A Comparative State Analysis.” Western Political Quarterly 34:415–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fishkin, James. 1993. Democracy and Deliberation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Flanigan, William, and Zingale, Nancy. 1987. Political Behavior of the American Electorate. 6th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
Fountain, Jane. 2001. Building the Virtual State: Information Technology and Institutional Change. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Gamble, Barbara. 1997. “Putting Civil Rights to a Popular Vote.” American Journal of Political Science 91:245–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardner, Charles. 1916. “Problems of Percentages in Direct Government.” American Political Science Review 10:500–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garner, J.W. 1907. “Primary vs. Representative Government.” Proceedings of the American Political Science Association 4:164–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerber, Elizabeth. 1999. The Populist Paradox: Interest Group Influence and the Promise of Direct Legislation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Goebel, Thomas. 2002. A Government by the People: Direct Democracy in America, 1890-1940. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.Google Scholar
Haynes, George. 1907. “The Education of Voters.” Political Science Quarterly 22:484–497.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hero, Rodney, and Tolbert, Caroline. 1996. “A Racial/Ethnic Diversity Interpretation of Politics and Policy in the States of the U.S.” American Journal of Political Science 40:851–871.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hero, Rodney, and Tolbert, Caroline. 2001 “Minority Voices and Citizen Attitudes about Government Responsiveness in the American States: Do Social and Institutional Context Matter?” Paper presented at the conference on Minority Representation: Institutions, Behavior and Identity, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA.Google Scholar
Hibbing, John, and Theiss-Morse, Elizabeth. 2001. “Process Preferences and American Politics: What the People Want Government to Be.” American Political Science Review 95:145–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, Kim, and Leighley, Jan. 1999. “Racial Diversity, Voter Turnout, and Mobilizing Institutions in the United States.” American Politics Quarterly 27:275–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huckfeldt, Robert, and Sprague, John. 1988. “Choice, Social-Structure, and Political Information—The Informational Coercion of Minorities.” American Journal of Political Science 32:467–482.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, Robert, Brown, Robert, and Wright, Gerald. 1998. “Registration, Turnout, and the Electoral Representativeness of U.S. State Electorates.” American Politics Quarterly 26:259–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, Lewis. 1912. “Direct Legislation as an Ally of Representative Government.” In The Initiative, Referendum and Recall, Munro, William, ed. New York: D. Appleton and Co.Google Scholar
Key, V.O., and Crouch, Winston. 1939. The Initiative and Referendum in California. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
King, Gary, Tomz, M., and Wittenberg, J.. 2000. “Making the Most of Statistical Analysis: Improving Interpretation and Presentation.” American Journal of Political Science 44:347–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leshner, Glenn, and McKean, Michael. 1997. “Using TV News for Political Information During an Off-Year Election: Effects on Political Knowledge and Cynicism.” Journal of Mass Communications Quarterly. 74:69–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis-Beck, Michael, and Rice, Tom. 1992. Forecasting Elections. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Lowenstein, Daniel. 1982. “Campaign Spending and Ballot Propositions: Recent Experience, Public Choice Theory, and the First Amendment.” UCLA Law Review 86:505–641.Google Scholar
Lupia, Arthur. 1994. “Shortcuts versus Encyclopedias: Information and Voting Behavior in California Insurance Reform Elections.” American Political Science Review 88:63–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lupia, Arthur. 2001. “Dumber than Chimps? An Assessment of Direct Democracy Voters.” In Dangerous Democracy? The Battle over Ballot Initiatives in America. Sabato, Larry, Ernst, Howard, and Larson, Bruce, eds. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Luskin, Robert. 1990. “Explaining Political Sophistication.” Political Behavior 12:331–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magleby, David. 1984. Direct Legislation: Voting on Ballot Propositions in the US. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Magleby, David. 1994. “Direct Legislation in the American States.” In Referendums Around the World. Butler, David and Ranney, Austin, eds. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute.Google Scholar
Mendelsohn, Matthew, and Parkin, Andrew, eds. 2001. Referendum Democracy: Citizens, Elites, and Deliberation in Referendum Campaigns. New York: Palgrave.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munro, William, ed. 1912. The Initiative, Referendum and Recall. New York: D. Appleton and Co.Google Scholar
Nie, Norman, and Andersen, Kristi. 1974. “Mass Belief System Revisited: Political Change and Attitude Structure.” Journal of Politics 36:541–591.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nie, Norman, Verba, Sidney, and Petrocik, John. 1979. The Changing American Voter. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norris, Pippa. 2001. Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osborne, David, and Gaebler, Ted. 1992. Reinventing Government: How the Entrepreneurial Spirit Is Transforming the Public Sector. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Owens, John, and Wade, Larry. 1986. “Campaign Spending on California Ballot Propisitions, Trends and Effects, 1924-1984.” Western Political Quarterly 39:675–689.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peters, B. Guy. 1996. The Future of Governing: Four Emerging Models. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
Piven, Frances, and Cloward, Richard. 1988. Why Americans Don't Vote. New York: Pantheon Books.Google Scholar
Powell, G. Bingham. 1986. “American Voter Turnout in Comparative Perspective.” American Political Science Review 80:17–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putnam, Robert D. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Reinsch, Paul. 1912. “The Initiative and Referendum.” Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science 26:155–161.Google Scholar
Rosenstone, Steven, and Hansen, John Mark. 1993. Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, Alan. 1998. The Decline of Representative Democracy: Process, Participation and Power in State Legislatures. Washington, DC: CQ Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schattschneider, E. E. 1960. The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America. Hinsdale, IL: Dryden Press.Google Scholar
Schlozman, Kay, and Tierney, John. 1986. Organized Interests and American Democracy. New York: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Schlozman, Kay, Verba, Sidney, and Brady, Henry. 1999. “Civic Participation and the Equality Problem.” In Civic Engagement in American Democracy, Skocpol, Theda and Fiorina, Morris, eds. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Schmidt, David. 1989. Citizen Lawmakers: The Ballot Initiative Revolution. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Schrag, Peter. 1998. Paradise Lost: California's Experience, America's Future. New York: New Press.Google Scholar
Shockley, John. 1985. “Direct Democracy, Campaign Finance and the Courts: Can Corruption, Undue Influence, and Declining Voter Confidence Be Found?” University of Miami Law Review 39:377–428.Google Scholar
Skocpol, Theda, and Fiorina, Morris, eds. 1999. Civic Engagement in American Democracy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Skowronek, Steven. 1982. Building the New American State: The Expansion of National Adaptive Capacities, 1877-1920. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Mark. 2002. “Ballot Initiatives and the Democratic Citizen.” Journal of Politics 64:892–903.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Mark. 2001. “The Contingent Effects of Ballot Initiatives and Candidate Races on Turnout.” American Journal of Political Science 45:700–706.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Daniel A. 1998. Tax Crusaders and the Politics of Direct Democracy. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Smith, Daniel A. 2001a. “Campaign Financing of Ballot Initiatives in the American States.” In Dangerous Democracy? The Battle over Ballot Initiatives in America, Sabato, Larry, Ernst, Howard, and Larson, Bruce, eds. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.Google Scholar
Smith, Daniel A. 2001b. “Special Interests and Direct Democracy: An Historical Glance.” In The Battle over Citizen Lawmaking, Waters, M. Dane, ed. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.Google Scholar
Smith, Daniel A., and Tolbert, Caroline. 2001. “The Initiative to Party: Partisanship and Ballot Initiatives in California.” Party Politics 7:781–799.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Daniel A., and Lubinski, Joseph. 2002. “Direct Democracy during the Progressive Era: A Crack in the Populist Veneer?” Journal of Policy History 14:349–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Somin, Ilya. 1998. “Voter Ignorance and the Democratic Ideal.” Critical Review 12:413–458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sullivan, J.W. 1892. Direct Legislation by the Citizenship through the Initiative and Referendum. New York: Twentieth Century Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Toffler, Alvin, and Toffler, Heidi. 1995. Creating a New Civilization: A Proposal for Reshaping Society. Atlanta, GA: Turner Publishing.Google Scholar
Tolbert, Caroline, Lowenstein, Daniel, and Donovan, Todd. 1998. “Election Law and Rules for Using Initiatives.” In Citizens as Legislators: Direct Democracy in the United States, Bower, Shaun, Donovan, Todd, and Tolbert, Caroline, eds. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.Google Scholar
Tolbert, Caroline, Grummel, John, and Smith, Daniel A.. 2001. “The Effects of Ballot Initiatives on Voter Turnout in the United States.” American Politics Research 29:625–648.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Truman, David. 1951. The Governmental Process: Political Interests and Public Opinion. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.Google Scholar
Waters, M. Dane, ed. 2001. The Battle over Citizen Lawmaking. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.Google Scholar
Weyl, Walter. 1912. The New Democracy. New York: The Macmillan Company.Google Scholar
Wolfinger, Raymond, and Rosenstone, Steven. 1980. Who Votes? New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Wolfensberger, Donald. 2000. Congress and the People: Deliberative Democracy on Trial. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center Press.Google Scholar
Zaller, John. 1992. The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmerman, Joseph. 1999. The Initiative: Citizen Law-Making. Westport, CT: Praeger.Google Scholar
Zisk, Betty. 1987. Money, Media, and the Grass Roots: State Ballot Issues and the Electoral Process. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar