With recent troubles in US elections, there has been a nationwide push to update voting
systems. Municipalities are investing heavily in electronic voting systems, many of which use …

Although'grassroots' conjures up images of independent citizen organizing, much mass
participation today is sponsored by elite consultants working for corporations and powerful …

Referenda on important public policy questions have come to play a central role in policy
making in many states. Referenda, or ballot propositions, have resulted in limits on taxation …

A spatial model of the policy process is used to identify conditions under which the threat of
initiatives constrains legislative behavior. Legislators in states that allow initiatives are …

One of the most contentious issues in politics today is the propriety of electing judges. Ought
judges be independent of democratic processes in obtaining and retaining their seats, or …

Voters in polities that make heavy use of direct democracy are frequently confronted with
ballots that contain a multitude of propositions. Claims that direct legislation elections …

In this article, we examine the effect of “choice fatigue” on decision making. We exploit a
natural experiment in which voters face the same contest at different ballot positions due to …

Voters in low-information elections frequently rely on heuristics or information shortcuts
when making their decisions of whom to support. While existing research on these shortcuts …

Studies that examine whether voters make informed decisions on direct legislation and
whether direct legislation enhances civic engagement presume a basic awareness of ballot …

Millions of American voters fail to complete their ballots each election year. These voters
present a puzzle: After having incurred the costs of going to the polls, why do they choose …