HISTORY ON THE BALLOT
Twenty-six states currently provide a process allowing residents to change, create or veto legislation or change the state’s constitution through a ballot measure.
South Dakota was the first state to approve a statewide policy in 1898. Over the next 20 years, 20 more states followed suit as part of a progressive crusade lead by those dissatisfied with the influence wealthy special interest groups had on government officials, according to Ballotpedia.org.
Indiana was on the verge of joining in on the movement. A new state constitution created in 1909 by Democratic Indiana Gov. Thomas Marshall would have allowed ballot initiatives, set minimum wages and given constitutional protections to unions.
The constitution was set to appear on the 1912 ballot for a vote, but the Indiana Supreme Court ultimately ruled it had to be removed because the state never held a constitutional convention.
As the progressive movement faded, so did efforts to allow ballot initiatives. After 1920, only five other states went on to approve a process for citizen-led measures. Mississippi was the last, passing a procedure in 1992 to allow citizen-led constitutional amendments.
Today, Indiana does have ballot measures, but only lawmakers or school districts seeking to raise taxes are allowed to initiative them.
‘A VOICE FOR HOOSIERS’
Indiana Republicans argue the state’s representative democracy has served Indiana well for more than two centuries without citizen-led initiatives.
“The people vote for their elected officials with the expectation that they will thoughtfully and thoroughly vet policy issues, and make decisions with constituents’ best interest in mind and in accordance with our constitution,” House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, said in an emailed statement.
But Rep. Blake Johnson, D-Indianapolis, said that idea has been eroded by gerrymandered districts that have led to a GOP supermajority in both the House and Senate for more than a decade.
The state’s new district maps, which were redrawn by a GOP supermajority after the 2020 census, have been criticized as favoring Republican candidates. Policy experts say the redrawn districts for state races almost guarantee the GOP will maintain its supermajority.
“In a state like Indiana … you find that the legislature doesn’t necessarily represent where mainstream Hoosiers are,” Johnson said.
Now, state Democrats argue that discontent over the GOP’s abortion ban and refusal to consider marijuana legalization has led to a groundswell of support for ballot initiatives as a way to bypass the Republican supermajority.
“Ballot initiatives are a mechanism that kind of confronts that level of political gamesmanship and gives a lot more power to the voice of everyday Hoosiers, rather than to parties that sometimes are getting pulled towards their edges,” Johnson said.
‘AN UPHILL BATTLE’
But the support to pass ballot-measure procedures in Indiana doesn’t come close to making it a reality, argued Chad Kinsella, director of Ball State University’s Bowen Center for Public Affairs.
The change would require an amendment to the state constitution, which entails lawmakers approving a joint resolution with the proposed language in two different years. If that happens, the proposal then heads to Hoosiers for a vote.
Considering the drawn-out process and Republican control at the statehouse, a ballot-measure proposal garnering the necessary GOP support is highly unlikely, Kinsella explained.
“I think saying it’s going to be an uphill battle would be an understatement,” he said. “There might be an appetite for it, but it would require state legislatures to give up a significant amount of their power, and I just don’t see them doing that.”
Senate Minority Leader Taylor pushed back against that sentiment, saying lawmakers pass dozens of new statues almost every year. Past policies shouldn’t put a stranglehold on future legislation, he argued. “Times change,” he said. “We have an opportunity to put something in front of the legislature that actually gives people a voice. If legislators don’t want that to happen, then there’s elections.”
Rep. Johnson acknowledged that Indiana is a conservative state, but recent votes to legalize marijuana and protect abortion access in other states with GOP majorities show ballot initiatives can play an important role in democracy.
“We’ve got these examples of voters saying clearly to their conservative governments that they don’t have all the answers; that there are some things where voters would like a greater say,” he said. “I think that we would benefit from that on a variety of issues.”
PROS AND CONS
Ballot initiatives can come with their own set of problems, argued Matt Bergbower, a professor of political science at Indiana State University.
Just like lobbyists at the statehouse, special interest groups devote millions of dollars to initiate and influence citizen-led initiatives in states that allow them, he explained.
“I’m sure you’re going to find examples of grassroots efforts successfully pursuing policy changes through the initiative process,” he said. “However, what you’re more likely to see is wealthy individuals and wealthy groups look to manipulate the governing process of that state through the initiative process.”
Ballot measures also run the risk of oversimplifying complex legislation that requires nuance to understand, Bergbower argued, and significant information campaigns are often required to educate the public.
“The biggest text on that yard sign or billboard is vote ‘yes’ or vote ‘no,’” he said. “You have to do your due diligence as a voter to understand what’s being asked, and voters can let you down sometimes.”
That isn’t a reason not to allow ballot measures, Johnson said. Initiatives can serve as a way for citizens to tell their representatives what they want, even if the measures don’t include details of how they want it done.
“Why not get the overarching perspective of the voters and then let the legislators deal with the nuance?” he asked.
Arguments about the pros and cons of citizen-led ballot initiatives remain moot in Indiana, where there’s little chance lawmakers will take steps to implement them, Bergbower explained.
“I would bet ‘no’ on this happening anytime in the near future, and I’d feel comfortable with that bet,” he said.