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From Fox & Hounds: Californians have a love-hate relationship with the Initiative process. Recent surveys by PPIC show that two-thirds of voters are satisfied with the initiative process even though a majority think that special interests have too much control and an even larger majority think the wording of initiatives is “often too complicated and

From MassLive: Massachusetts voters who read an independently produced statement about the marijuana legalization ballot question felt better informed about the issue and more confident in their knowledge. But it is likely that few residents were even aware of the so-called “Citizens’ Statement.” Organizers of the Citizens Initiative Review pilot project, which produced the statement,

Ashley Trim of the Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University writes about the challenges of the California initiative system and the unique democratic power of the Citizens Initiative Review. Via People2Power.

From the Pepperdine University Graphic: The Pepperdine School of Public Policy is continuing its work from last semester on a project to make the California Initiative process more transparent for its students. Headed by Dean Pete Peterson of the Davenport Institute, the School of Public Policy intends to bring Healthy Democracy, an organization based in

From MassLive: Legalized marijuana in Massachusetts would be safer than marijuana bought on the black market, because it would be tested and labeled. But after legalization in Denver, the black market continued to thrive. These were among the findings released Sunday by a panel of 20 Massachusetts residents who spent four days analyzing the marijuana legalization

From Oregon Public Broadcasting: What happens when you put 20 average Oregonians in a room and ask them to spend four days learning the ins and outs of Measure 97? That may sound like the wonkiest reality show ever, but it actually happened over the weekend at Western Oregon University. A group of Oregonians selected to represent the

From the Albany Democrat-Herald: The members of the Citizens’ Initiative Review panel that was examining Measure 97, the proposal for a corporate gross receipts tax, wrapped up their work on Sunday afternoon and left Monmouth, where they had gathered for four days of work. They left behind a straightforward summary of the measure’s pros and

From The Oregonian: Now that it has qualified for the ballot, there has been a predictable increase in public discourse about what is now known as Measure 97, the corporate gross receipts tax measure. This ballot measure will no doubt continue to generate intense interest, with a deluge in advertising from opposing campaigns sure to follow.

From the Albany Democrat-Herald: Next month, 24 randomly selected Oregon voters will gather at Western Oregon University in Monmouth to weigh the pros of cons of Measure 97, the controversial proposal for a gross-receipts tax on certain Oregon corporations. Think of the group as an impartial grand jury of sorts: Members will hear presentations from proponents and

From MassLive: A group of politicians and academics — including former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis — are piloting a program to have a committee of citizens analyze the ballot question on legalizing marijuana and draft a statement of its pros and cons to be distributed to voters. “This is going to be a great thing for

From Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government: Cambridge, Mass. – May 5, 2015 – Today the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, announced the Top 10 programs for the Roy and Lila Ash Innovations in Public Engagement in Government Award, including the four finalists who will

From NPR: Ben Hamilton walks down the salad dressing aisle at his neighborhood grocery store in west Denver. The human resources consultant usually seeks out organic options and scans nutrition information. “I am a label reader. I think a lot of people read labels and really are curious to know what is in our food supply,”

From KDRV Newswatch 12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5fbFrAAdpQ CENTRAL POINT, Ore. — The statewide debate about labeling foods containing genetically modified organisms might not end on the same side as the local elections. A recent citizens’ review polled 20 random voters for their recommendations on measures in the election this fall. The panel found that labels required by

From KUNC: Colorado voters will have extra help making up their minds about a ballot initiative to label genetically modified foods. A new effort, the Colorado Citizens Initiative Review, will produce a voter guide on Proposition 105, a ballot measure that proposes labeling foods containing genetically modified ingredients. The review is a pilot project aimed at helping

From The Portland Tribune: If the vote by a Citizens’ Initiative Review panel is any indication, the arguments will be robust for and against a proposed Oregon requirement for labeling of foods with genetically modified organisms — and the outcome of Measure 92 will be close. Sunday’s vote by the panel, which consisted of voters randomly

From The Oregonian: A 20-member citizens panel has narrowly voted against recommending passage of the Oregon Mandatory Labeling of GMOs initiative. The panel, convened by the Citizens Initiative Review Commission voted 11-9 to oppose Measure 92, which would require the labeling of food products containing genetically modified ingredients. Political observers expect the measure, which will appear on the November

From KOIN 6: A citizen review panel is narrowly opposing an Oregon ballot measure to require labeling of genetically modified foods. Twenty voters chosen to represent a cross section of the electorate voted 11-9 on Sunday to oppose Measure 92. The Citizen Initiative Review panel heard arguments from both sides over several days. Read the full

From Herald and News: A panel chosen for a citizen-level review of ballot measures isn’t persuaded that Oregon should ditch its partisan primaries and adopt the top-two election system used in Washington and California. The voters on the Citizen Initiative Review panel heard arguments from both sides this week. After deliberating, they voted 14-5 to oppose

From The Medford Mail Tribune: Following are the key findings on Measure 15-119 — which would ban genetically modified crops in Jackson County — from a Citizens Initiative Review panel moderated by Healthy Democracy Oregon. 15-119 prohibits growing of genetically engineered crops in Jackson County. It protects family farmers from serious risk that their crops will

From KOBI: They spent the last four days getting educated about what’s being called the most complex measure on any ballot in the state.  Now, members of a citizen panel release their findings on Jackson County’s Controversial GMO measure. The citizen’s panel wrapped up their last day of a 4 day process Wednesday.  This panel is

From KDRV Newswatch 12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVSEl1gu5qg This May, Southern Oregon will be asked to decide between several measures and candidates in the 2014 primary election. According to the organization, Healthy Democracy, one out of every four Oregonians say ballot measures are hard to understand. They say this can be discouraging, and often a vote is uncast.