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People power! Why direct democracy is the key to changing American politics?
In the American political system, popular participation is ushering in a new trend, and the name of this trend is the "National Citizen Initiative."
The National Citizen Initiative is a proposed process in the United States to petition for federal-level initiatives through a national ballot. Although some U.S. states already have systems for direct or indirect initiatives, national-level initiatives currently do not exist. The proposal was first introduced in the 2000s by the late Senator Mike Gravelle and the Foundation for Democracy, a nonprofit non-governmental organization.
The National Citizen Initiative does not alter or abolish the power of Congress, the President, or the judiciary, and laws enacted through the initiative must also pass the test of the judiciary.
This movement seeks to empower the American people to make the laws and further recognize their direct participation at the local, state, and federal levels. Supporters of the initiative believe that with the diversification of American society, the traditional representative government can no longer fully represent the will of the broad masses of the people.
Moreover, they emphasize that the current electoral system does not address the problems of governing an increasingly heterogeneous population, which can only be solved through direct citizen participation. They also suggest that as technology advances, all Americans can have a say in the policies and laws that affect their lives, demonstrating a higher need for participation.
"Technological advances allow us to bridge the gap between elite decision-makers and ordinary citizens, which is at the heart of direct democracy."
The National Citizens Initiative hopes to facilitate this process by creating an independent electoral trust. The Electoral Trust’s Board of Directors will be composed of elected citizens from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, demonstrating the initiative’s broad-based participation intent.
One of the core purposes of these proposals is to ensure transparency and promote engagement among citizens by holding public hearings on each initiative. Every participant, whether a supporter or opponent of the bill, will have the opportunity to express their views, not only respecting individual opinions but also entrusting the wisdom of the group.
The requirement that a successful national initiative must gain qualified support in two consecutive elections means that any major changes must have broad consensus.
As the plan for the National Citizen Initiative gradually takes shape, intellectuals and social activists who support the initiative, such as Ralph Ned, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zin and others, have called for the formulation and advancement of the initiative. Direct democratic laws give citizens a voice in political decision-making.
The implementation of this initiative will have the potential to promote political transparency, increase citizen participation, and change how traditional political structures dialogue with the public. Its supporters firmly believe that it will be an important step in reforming American politics.
However, whether such changes can be truly realized still faces resistance from political elites and traditional power structures. While promoting universal participation, we must also think about: How to ensure that direct democracy can truly reflect the opinions of all citizens, not just the voices of certain specific groups?
