At the turn of the century, much in-
terest was shown in direct government
because of certain abuses which arose
in state legislatures. Powerful interest
groups had taken control of legislative
bodies in some states. During this
period provisions for initiative, referen-
dum, and recall began to appear in
state constitutions.
Initiative refers to measures proposed
by a petition of the electors and later
voted on at the polls. There are two
types of initiative, direct and indirect.
Direct initiative refers to measures
placed on the ballot by a mandatory
process without action by the legislature.
Indirect initiative refers to measures
sent to the legislature for its considera-
tion before being placed on the ballot.
If the legislature approves the measure,
it becomes law in the normal fashion.
If the legislature disapproves, the meas-
ure is placed on the ballot and may be
rejected or voted into law by the elec-
tors. If the legislature alters the pro-
posal, both the original and the altered
versions are placed on the ballot and
either may be voted into law.
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Referendum refers to measures orig-
inated by the legislature and placed
upon the ballot for approval or rejec-
tion by the electors. Such measures may
be placed on the ballot by direction of
the legislature or by a petition of the
electors.
Recall authorizes voters to remove an
elected, or (in some states) appointed,
official by an adverse popular vote.
About half the states have adopted
one or more of the devices of initiative,
referendum, or recall. Twenty states
provide for both initiative and referen-
dum. Maryland and New Mexico are
the only states which provide for refer-
endum alone. In states which have
adopted initiative and referendum, con-
stitutional provisions are often common
to both. Generally the constitutions
provide expressly that these powers are
invoked by petition, but a few states
leave the method of invoking them to
be provided by law. Alaska, the first
state since 1918 to adopt a provision for
initiative and referendum, provides that
it be invoked by application, signed by
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