Questions tagged [referendum]
Questions related to a general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision. This tag should be used alongside the country when for a specific referendum.
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Need help understanding NYS 2023 ballot proposals [closed]
The ballot proposals state:
A. The proposed amendment to Article 8, section 4 of the Constitution
removes the special constitutional debt limitation now placed on small
city school districts, so they ...
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What were the policy objectives sought to be achieved by California’s proposition 47?
Prop 47 modified the status of shoplifting under a certain value threshold from a felony into a misdemeanour for the first offence. What was the objective and impetus for doing this?
What were the ...
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Besides Iran, are there any other countries which have held referendums to determine the future political system with only one candidate?
On 30-31 March, 1979 a referendum was held in Iran to determine the political system of the country (Previously the monarchial regime had been overthrown on February 11, 1979).
But the problem with ...
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Why have European regions with strong desires for independence not been allowed to have either local parliaments or referendums? [closed]
Is it the fault of the government's progressiveness that regions with strong desires for independence and self-rule, such as Corsica, the Basque region, Catalonia, Bavaria, Moravia, and Sicily, have ...
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(2014?) Proposal of an alternative referendum form in Crimea and Donbass under the supervision of the UN / OSCE
I'm trying to find out if there were (official) proposals* to hold alternative forms of referendums in the two areas. I know that the UN and OSCE have criticized and not recognized the referenda that ...
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Could the Kaliningrad region join the EU without becoming an independent state if a referendum or proposition is voted for by the people?
Through the scheme decided by the highest court with jurisdiction in and over Russia at the time, the European Court of Human Rights declared what the terrorist regime of Russia (see Parliamentary ...
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Could the government legally create an election in which only some people could vote? [closed]
I was considering that if I were in some lawmaking position I would consider advocating that abortion rights should be voted on by females and the result of that election would become law.
On ...
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How common is for presidential term extensions to be bundled with other issues in referendums?
By presidential term extensions, I mean broadly measures like: allowing more terms than before, extending their length, and even allowing special purpose measures that effectively apply the previous ...
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Has Ukraine explained how their proposed resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war would work if their referendum fails? [closed]
Ukraine has indicated that any compromise in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, such as declaring neutrality, must be put to a referendum after Russian troops withdraw.
[Ukrainian president] Zelenskyy ...
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How to prevent a "referendum spam"?
In Switzerland, whenever a bill is accepted by the parliament, if 50,000 citizens sign a petition against it in a 18 months period, there is a referendum and the bill can be canceled.
Suppose another ...
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How was Barbados able to remove the Queen as head of state without a referendum?
I have been reading about Barbados removing the Queen as its head of state and replacing the monarchy with a presidential system. I thought this was taking place after a referendum, but I then saw ...
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Can Scotland hold an informal independence opinion-poll without Westminster's consent?
Yesterday, Nicola Sturgeon said that she would hold an independence referendum before 2023.
Our democratic mandate to allow people to decide the country's future is beyond question. And at this ...
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Why do referendums use a binary choice rather than a numerical score?
In some democracies, citizens may be asked if they accept a law or the modification of a law in a "yes or no" referendum.
Most of the time, legal texts are complicated and specialized, so ...
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Has the Swiss Federal Council recommended differently than the Parliament in any popular votes?
In Switzerland (at least in recent times), the Federal Council issues explanatory booklets for matters subject to popular votes (e.g. constitutional amendments and initiatives, referendums against ...
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How does Ireland maintain constitutional stability when it is relatively easy to amend the Constitution? [closed]
It is relatively easier to amend the Constitution in Ireland than in other countries.
To change the Irish Constitution, the amendment must:
Be approved by both the lower and upper house of Parliament ...
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How are U.S. states allowed to put marijuana legalization on ballots when it's against federal law?
Five states will now legalize marijuana for both recreational and medical use.
During the November elections, A majority of New Jersey and Arizona residents voted yes on ballot measures to make ...
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Why can't California Proposition 17 be passed via the legislative process and thus needs a ballot measure?
I'm researching CA-Prop 17 which allows for parolees to vote.
I ask of every ballot measure that I vote on: Why can't this law be passed via the normal legislative processes? Why does it require a ...
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What would Alexander Lukashenko gain from a referendum on Belarus joining the Russian Federation?
In response to the protests regarding the Belarusian presidential election, Lukashenko in early September pondered the possibility of a referendum on Belarus joining the Russian Federation.
Suppose ...
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In the 2020 constitutional referendum, what factors explain the low approval in Nenets Autonomous Okrug?
In the 2020 Russian constitutional referendum, official reports state that Russia-wide, 78% of voters approved and 22% rejected the new constitution. I noticed that in one federal subject, according ...
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How central are referendums to the UK constitution?
I can't remember the link, but someone on Quora typed
Referendums are now a central part of the UK constitution. Voters in the UK have spoken, and they will speak again.
How true is this?
What ...
user6241
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If a referendum on Northern Ireland joining the Republic of Ireland is narrowly defeated, what is the trigger for another referendum?
From Wikipedia's Good Friday Agreement article:
The agreement reached was that Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, and would remain so until a majority of the people both of Northern ...
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Is there a more in-depth explanation why Asians in (Greater) London voted to leave the EU, breaking with the national trend for ethnic minorities?
A ward-level BBC analysis of the 2016 EU referendum pointed out these patterns of Asian vote in London, breaking with the national trend:
White populations were generally more pro-Leave, and ethnic ...
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Losers Consent, Winners Lament? [closed]
There have been angry protests against the UK Parliamentary Election result and I commented that the result was democracy in action.
In response, another person said that the protests are a result of ...
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Is it possible for the UK Parliament to create a legally binding referendum?
Throughout the Brexit saga, one thing I’ve heard repeatedly is that due to the principle of parliamentary sovereignty, referendums are not legally binding:
Parliamentary sovereignty is a principle ...
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Can a 'Second Referendum' on Brexit contain three options?
Lots of people seem to be calling for a second referendum on the United Kingdom's status as members of the European Union.
The Labour Party policy is to renegotiate a deal with the European Union and ...
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What options do supporters of a confirmatory referendum have?
There is a considerable number of MPs who support a confirmatory referendum on the deal. What legal options do these MPs have now? If there are several possible strategies they can pursue, which one ...
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Has the UK had an election, referendum, or similar result either not implemented or put again before being implemented (in modern times)?
Are there any examples from modern times of the result of a UK election, referendum, etc., not being implemented, or the question being put a second time (perhaps in modified form) before the first ...
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Has Boris Johnson's government explained why its latest Brexit proposal does not include a referendum for Northern Ireland leaving the single market?
The "final offer" that Boris Johnson has made to the EU includes a provision that the single-market (for goods) arrangement for Northern Ireland needs to be explicitly approved and then extended by ...
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Brexit - What was the question that the Referendum answered? [closed]
In Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Deep Thought comes up with the answer to the question of 'Life, the Universe, and Everything', which is 42. It then says the that the answer seems ...
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Does Hong Kong have the right to hold a referendum for independence?
Does Hong Kong have the right to hold a referendum for independence? I am wondering if there was some kind of legal agreement when Hong Kong was ceded to China by Britain that guaranteed that Hong ...
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Is organizing "piggybacked" referendums something unusual in EU?
Romanians were also called to vote for a referendum when voting for EU Parliament elections in 2019. However, the organizing for diaspora voting was very problematic and many could not vote at all:
...
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Was there an OSCE mission observing the Scottish independence referendum?
Even though the United Kingdom is an established democracy, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) did observe for instance the 2017 general election. There's both a "needs ...
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How many local recounts were conducted in the Scottish independence referendum?
A 2014 article in the Telegraph noted that
The chief counting officer for the Scottish independence referendum has confirmed there can be no national recount even if the result is close.
But Mary ...
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Are there any polls on the new Swiss immigration referendum question?
Apparently after the "betrayal" of the first Swiss immigration-limiting referendum (of Feb 2014) by their parliament, which passed a substantially watered down law (in 2016), there's now ...
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Why isn't Northern Ireland demanding a referendum on joining Ireland, similar to the one in Scotland? [duplicate]
Northern Ireland looks like it's in a perfect position for a referendum on leaving the UK: it could instantly join its neighbor Ireland and remain a part of the EU, it has a long history of protesting ...
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What's the difference between repeating elections every few years and repeating a referendum after a few years?
There's a lot of talk in the UK these days about how holding a second referendum on Brexit would be "undemocratic" and "go against the spirit of referendums". However repeating a vote doesn't seem all ...
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Was the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement called "confirmatory" at the time?
In the context of a 2nd Brexit referendum discussion
Peter Kyle Labour, Hove
Last week, 268 Members voted for the principle of a confirmatory ballot—the largest number of votes for any alternative ...
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What is a "confirmatory" referendum in the context of Brexit?
The topic of a second referendum on Brexit has been discussed since the time of the first referendum. However, recently, there is a lot of talk in UK politics about a "confirmatory" ...
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Can a traditional nonconnected PAC spend money to support or oppose state ballot measures?
Assume a fully compliant FEC-registered nonconnected multicandidate PAC that already makes and reports direct contributions and also independent expenditures to influence the election of candidates in ...
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If/When UK leaves the EU, can a future goverment conduct a referendum to join the EU?
I wonder if after the current debate, the UK ends up leaving the EU on any terms, how soon can a future government conduct a referendum to join the EU?
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Why are there no referendums in the US?
The US has a (self-imposed) reputation of being a supremely democratic and free country.
However, unlike many other democratic countries on the planet, the US has never had any national referendums.
...
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What reason(s) have UK politicians given for not wanting another referendum on whether the UK should exit the EU or not? [duplicate]
This question is different from Why doesn't the UK hold a second Brexit referendum to clarify what the public wants from Brexit? because that question is asking about voting on the form that ...
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Does India have something similar to a referendum proposition?
I am an Indian student in the US, and I have recently witnessed an election here. In California and Florida (I have seen a ballot for that state), the voters also vote on some key issues in addition ...
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How does an independence referendum work?
I am just curious how exactly do independence referendums work.
For instance let us assume that some people meet the criteria for a referendum and want to make a non-binding referendum. If they go ...
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Why are referendums held? Are they not inherently anti-democratic?
One thing I've noticed is that people often speak favorably of referendums. I used to do so as well. My thinking was, what could be
bad about an election that allows the people to directly vote on a ...
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Is a second EU Referendum undemocratic?
People often say a second referendum is undemocratic.
The first referendum was partially based on incorrect/dishonest information. After over two years of the general public viewing the government ...
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If a law is found to be unconstitutional; can an amendment to the state constitution matter?
In the general sense, let's say a state law is passed, and the courts decide that the law is unconstitutional because the United States constitution prohibits such laws. Can a state amend its own ...
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Why doesn't the UK hold a second Brexit referendum to clarify what the public wants from Brexit?
In following the ongoing Brexit drama I've seen claims that the first vote was unfair because it was only for yes/no and didn't say anything about what form an actual Brexit would take. This ...
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Mechanics of a second Brexit referendum
Some people advocate a simple n-way ballot like:
Remain
Deal
No deal
But this splits the leave vote.
An alternative is to use Single Transferable Vote, which in the case of a referendum would be an ...
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What are the reasons for not having a voter turnout threshold for a nation-wide referendum?
Romania held a referendum that failed to be validated due to low voter turnout and the 30% threshold limit (this was lowered from 50% a few years ago). The leader of the main party in power thinks ...
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