A number of States have resorted to the initiative and referendum
as applied to ordinary legislation. By means of this method a
small percentage of the voters, from eight to ten per cent, may
initiate proposals and impose upon the voters the function of
legislation. South Dakota, in 1898, made constitutional provision
for direct legislation. Utah followed in 1900, Oregon in 1902,
Nevada in 1904, Montana in 1906, and Oklahoma in 1907. East of
the Mississippi, several States have adopted a modified form of
the initiative and referendum. In Oregon, where this device of
direct government has been most assiduously applied, the voters
in 1908 voted upon nineteen different bills and constitutional
amendments; in 1910 the number increased to thirty-two; in 1912,
to thirty-seven; in 1914 it fell to twenty-nine. The vote cast
for these measures rarely exceeded eighty per cent of those
voting at the election and frequently fell below sixty.
The electorate that attempts to rid itself of the evils of the
state legislature by these heroic methods assumes a heavy
responsibility. When the burden of direct legislation is added to
the task of choosing from the long list of elective officers
which is placed before the voter at every local and state
election, it is not surprising that there should set in a
reaction in favor of simplified government. The mere separation
of state and local elections does not solve the problem. It
somewhat minimizes the chances of partizan influence over the
voter in local elections; but the voter is still confronted with
the long lists of candidates for elective offices.
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