List of District of Columbia ballot measures
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{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Elections in the District of Columbia sidebar}}
Since adopting this process, ballot measures have become a common part of the city's electoral system. {{As of|2022|post=,}} more than 150 different initiatives had been filed with the district, along with a significantly smaller number of referendums; of those, only 29 have met the required qualifications to be placed on the ballot.{{cite report |title=Master Initiative and Initiative Measure List |publisher=District of Columbia Board of Elections |url=https://www.dcboe.org/getattachment/Ballot-Measures/Initiative-Measures/MASTER-INITIATIVE-AND-INITIATIVE-MEASURE-LIST-wtih-hyperlinks-(2-27-19).pdf.aspx?lang=en-US |access-date=2022-12-24}}{{cite report |title=Master Referendum List |publisher=District of Columbia Board of Elections |url=https://www.dcboe.org/getattachment/Ballot-Measures/Initiative-Measures/MASTER-REFERENDUM-LIST-3-20-19.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US |access-date=2022-12-24}} Ballot measures have been used to legalize politically contentious policies such as local term limits, abolition of the tipped minimum wage, cannabis use, and advancements in the District of Columbia statehood movement.
Background
Since the late 1800s, the residents of the District of Columbia have campaigned for control over their own affairs. In a substantial leap forward, the United States Congress passed the District of Columbia Home Rule Act in 1973, which devolved some of its powers to the city.{{cite web |title=D.C. Home Rule |publisher=Council of the District of Columbia |url=https://dccouncil.gov/dc-home-rule/ |access-date=2022-12-23}} Just a few years later in 1979, the newly formed city council passed the Initiative, Referendum, and Recall Procedures Act.{{Cite web |title=Recall Process |url=https://www.dcboe.org/Ballot-Measures/Recall-Process |access-date=2022-10-27 |website=District of Columbia Board of Elections}} This act created a process of direct democracy in which residents could enact their own laws or repeal existing laws.
File:DC Cannabis Campaign volunteer 2014.JPG]]
The prominence of ballot measures has allowed Washington, D.C., to lead the nation in social issues. In 2014, residents approved Initiative 71, which legalized cannabis for recreational use, making the district the third U.S. jurisdiction behind Colorado and Washington state.{{cite news |last=Davis |first=Aaron C. |title=D.C. Voters Overwhelmingly Support Legalizing Marijuana, Joining Colo., Wash. |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2014-11-04 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-voters-titling-heavily-toward-legalizing-marijuana-likely-joining-colo-wash/2014/11/04/116e83f8-60fe-11e4-9f3a-7e28799e0549_story.html |access-date=2022-12-24 |url-access=limited}} The Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020 made the city the fourth U.S. jurisdiction to decriminalize entheogens.{{cite news |title=Initiative 81 Passes in the District of Columbia |date=2020-12-01 |publisher=Bruckheim & Patel |url=https://www.brucklaw.com/initiative-81-passes-dc/ |access-date=2022-12-24 |quote=D.C. will join Denver, Colorado, as well as Oakland and Santa Cruz, California, where laws are in place to decriminalize psychoactive plants and fungi.}} In 2022, voters approved Initiative 82, which eliminates the tipped minimum wage over five years, after an earlier initiative ultimately failed. It joined eight states in abolishing the practice.{{cite news |last=Gomez |first=Amanda Michelle |title=D.C. Voters Approve Measure Phasing Out the Tipped Minimum Wage |work=DCist |date=2022-11-08 |url=https://dcist.com/story/22/11/08/initiative-82-approved/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109030855/https://dcist.com/story/22/11/08/initiative-82-approved/ |url-status=live |archive-date=November 9, 2022 |access-date=2022-12-24}}
Residents have also used ballot measures to expand their voting rights and (by extension) campaign for admitting the District of Columbia into the Union as the 51st state. An initiative in 1980 directed the D.C. government to begin the process of moving towards statehood due to the stalled and limited-in-scope voting rights amendment. Voters made the Attorney General for the District of Columbia an elected office beginning in 2014. An advisory referendum in 2016 showed that nearly 90 percent of residents support statehood, and it directed the D.C. Council to make formal statehood petitions to Congress.{{cite news |last=Hersher |first=Rebecca |title=D.C. Votes Overwhelmingly To Become 51st State |work=NPR |date=2016-11-09 |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/09/501412360/d-c-votes-overwhelmingly-to-become-51st-state |access-date=2022-12-24}}
Types of ballot measures
= District Charter amendments =
District Charter amendments are changes to the District of Columbia Home Rule Charter, the law that established the D.C. government and its authority.{{cite web |title=D.C. Home Rule |publisher=Council of the District of Columbia |url=https://dccouncil.gov/dc-home-rule/ |access-date=2023-01-19}} They require a majority vote to pass the D.C. Council, a majority of voters to approve the amendment, and then are submitted to Congress for a 35-business day congressional review period. If Congress does not pass a resolution of disapproval, the amendment is adopted.Code of the District of Columbia [https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/1-203.03 § 1–203.03.] Retrieved January 19, 2023.
=Initiatives=
- Initiatives are measures placed on the ballot and, if passed, directly become law. They must meet specific requirements under the District Charter, including not authorizing discrimination or appropriating funds. In order to place an initiative or referendum on the ballot, supporters must file a proposal with the District of Columbia Board of Elections. Upon approval, there is a 10-day challenge period before supporters can begin gathering signatures. To be placed on the ballot, signatures equal to five percent of registered voters must be gathered.{{Cite web |title=Initiative Measures & Referenda |url=https://www.dcboe.org/Ballot-Measures/Initiative-Measures |access-date=2022-10-27 |publisher=District of Columbia Board of Elections}}
=Referendums=
There are two types of referendums in the District of Columbia:
- Referendums are measures that seek to overturn or repeal laws recently-enacted by the D.C. government. Referendums are subject to the same requirements as initiatives.
- Advisory referendums are questions to gauge public opinion on a potential action of the D.C. Council.Code of the District of Columbia [https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/1-204.12 § 1–204.12.(b)] Retrieved January 19, 2023.
Barriers to enactment
The D.C. government has concluded that approved ballot measures become self-enacting{{snd}}meaning the government does not need to take action, such as an approving signature or proclamation, for the measure to take effect.{{cite web |last=Lopez |first=German |title=Despite Congressional Threats, DC Council Is Definitely Moving Forward on Legal Marijuana |publisher=Vox |date=2015-01-14 |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/1/14/7548003/dc-council-marijuana-legalization |access-date=2022-12-24}} However, many approved ballot measures have been invalidated by either the D.C. Council or Congress, much to the frustration of residents.
=D.C. Council=
The Initiative, Referendum, and Recall Procedures Act gives the D.C. Council the power to reverse voter-approved initiatives, as it did in 2001 regarding term limits and in 2019 regarding the tipped minimum wage.{{Cite web |last=Chan |first=Sewell |date=2008-10-01 |title=When a City Council Repealed Term Limits |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/when-a-city-council-repealed-term-limits/ |access-date=2022-10-27 |website=The New York Times}}{{Cite news |last=Nirappil |first=Fenit |date=2018-10-02 |title=D.C. Council overturns wage hike for bartenders, servers — four months after voters approved it |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-council-takes-initial-vote-to-overturn-initiative-77-four-months-after-voters-approved-it/2018/10/02/da906320-c651-11e8-b1ed-1d2d65b86d0c_story.html |access-date=2022-10-27 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}
=Congressional intervention=
Congress has ultimate authority over the district, including its budget. As a result, members of Congress, who do not represent the district and are not accountable to them, often add little-noticed clauses and amendments to the budget in order to manipulate or block the implementation of the city's laws.{{cite web |title=Democracy Held Hostage |publisher=American Civil Liberties Union |url=https://www.aclu.org/other/democracy-held-hostage |access-date=2022-12-24}} Two ballot measures were interfered with using this method:
- Initiative 59, which legalized cannabis for medical use, was blocked via the Barr Amendment, named after Congressman Bob Barr. It even prevented the D.C. government from counting the results of the ballot measure vote for over a year. The amendment remained in effect until Congress voluntarily overturned it in 2009.{{cite press release |author= |title=Congress Lifts Ban on Medical Marijuana for Nation's Capitol |publisher=Americans for Safe Access |date=2009-12-13 |url=https://www.safeaccessnow.org/congress_lifts_ban_on_medical_marijuana_for_nations_capitol |access-date=2022-12-24}}
- Initiative 71, which legalized cannabis for recreational use, was manipulated with a rider written by Congressman Andy Harris. It blocks the D.C. government from regulating the sale of cannabis, creating an unregulated gift economy. The rider remains in effect {{as of|2022|lc=y|post=.}}{{cite news |last=Flynn |first=Meagan |title=Congress Keeps D.C. Marijuana, Abortion Riders in Budget |date=2022-03-09 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/03/09/dc-marijuana-abortion-congress/ |access-date=2023-01-19 |url-access=limited}}
Initiative 77 was threatened by an amendment written by Congressmen Mark Meadows and Gary Palmer to block it from taking effect.{{cite news |last=Campbell |first=Alexia Fernández |title=House Republicans Try to Block DC from Raising Wages for Restaurant Workers |date=2018-07-12 |work=Vox |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/7/12/17561980/initiative-77-repeal-republicans-congress |access-date=2022-12-05}} The amendment did not appear in the final enacted budget bill;{{cite act |type=Public Law |index=116-37 |date={{date|2019-08-02|mdy}} |legislature=United States Congress |title=H.R.3877 - Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/3877 |access-date=2022-12-05}} it was instead repealed by the D.C. Council.
List of ballot measures since 1979
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.dcboe.org/Ballot-Measures/Initiative-Measures D.C. Board of Elections: Initiative Measures and Referenda]
{{US ballot measures}}
{{District of Columbia}}
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Category:Elections in Washington, D.C.