Benjamin S. Case is a postdoctoral scholar at the Center for Work and Democracy at Arizona State University. He is also the lead researcher on the ballot-initiatives project and coauthor of its report on ballot-initiative politics, Majority Rules: The Battle for Ballot Initiatives.
In the midterms, ballot initiatives cut through partisan polarization to reveal majorities for higher wages, expanded health care access, and abortion rights. That’s why many state-level Republicans are attempting to undermine the ballot initiative process.
As our representative system has become less democratic and more oligarchical, ballot initiatives have become more important to passing majoritarian legislation. The Left should take note and proceed accordingly.