PRACTICAL PITFALLS OF THE PLEBISCITE

Direct Democracy Used Increasingly In U.s. To Bypass Democratically Elected Politicians

UKIAH, CALIF. -- The harvest season has arrived in Northern California's
Mendocino County, and farmers are busy with their autumn ritual of picking,
packaging and marketing their crop while waging a political battle to get
the government off their backs.

The leading crop is marijuana, and the pot farmers of Mendocino's "golden
triangle," famous for the quality and potency of its herb, have been
fighting against Washington's war on drugs for more than two decades.

Now, they may have found a solution that has become increasingly popular
among Americans who want to bypass laws imposed by elected governments: the
plebiscite. When county voters enter the polling booths on Nov. 7, among
their ballots will be Measure G, which proposes to instruct police to give
marijuana laws "lowest priority," and allow individuals to grow up to 25
pot plants without arrest.

"This is a pot-growing centre, and a lot of our economy is dependent on
that, and also, a lot of people have been hurt by the drug war and there's
a lot of antagonism against that," said Marvin Lehrman, president of the
Ukiah Cannabis Club.

Most observers expect the measure to pass. There's not even an opposition
campaign.

If Measure G passes, it will place the values of Mendocino County sharply
at odds with those of Washington and the California legislature, which has
some of the toughest drug laws in the country.

Authorities would face an awkward choice: Follow the wishes of voters and
allow one county to defy the legislature, or go against the desires of
Mendocino's majority (although Measure G could be overridden by state or
federal laws).

Such a dilemma is faced by governments across the United States, as
election-day plebiscites become an increasingly popular means of enacting
laws. To get a measure on a ballot, most states require a petition signed
by a small proportion of the state's population, usually tens of thousands.

A thriving industry of professional signature-gatherers has arisen,
typically charging $1.50 a signature. For many wealthy interest groups and
industries, this is far cheaper than lobbying to have a law passed in the
legislature.

Scores of ballot measures will be put before voters this year in the 23
states that allow them. They would forbid gay marriage, permit
doctor-assisted suicide, prevent governments from raising taxes, and, in
three states, take steps toward legalizing marijuana.

Many would have the force of constitutional amendments; overriding laws
passed by elected representatives and preventing new laws from being
passed. Never has a country's electoral democracy found itself so sharply
at odds with its "direct" democracy.

"The direct democracy process, when it was introduced in the early 20th
century, was meant to complement the legislative process, not to supplant
it," said Eric Schockman, an associate professor of political science at
the University of Southern California. He notes that propositions were
created as a populist measure to balance off legislatures taken over by
railroad and mining interests.

Now, in some states, the opposite has happened: Moneyed interests use the
plebiscite system to mount an end-run around the legislature. Mr.
Schockman, like many critics, feels this system has become profoundly
undemocratic.

"Why not just put the legislature out of business, and govern by referendum?"

The plebiscite system lay dormant throughout much of the 20th century.
Then, in 1978, conservative groups in California mounted Proposition 13,
which prohibited governments from raising property taxes. It still stands,
one reason wealthy California has the worst public schools of the 50 states.

Prop. 13 was copied in other states. Now, some find it impossible to
introduce basic spending bills because their powers have been proscribed by
plebiscite.

Nowhere are plebiscites more prominent than in Oregon, where a conservative
activist named Bill Sizemore has used ballot initiatives to transform the
state's economy and government. Paradoxically, Mr. Sizemore has been
defeated repeatedly in election bids.

Nevertheless, his initiatives -- he has six in the coming elections -- have
made him more powerful than the governor. A recent political cartoon
illustrated the three branches of government: legislative, executive and
Sizemore.

"Sizemore is aggressively using what has become a corrupt process," said
Oregon political analyst Bill Lunch. "It allows millionaires to get the
issues they want on the ballot."

Nevertheless, Oregonians have repeatedly voted in favour of his
initiatives. In a stroke of self-preserving genius, one of Mr. Sizemore's
ballot initiatives this year would prevent the state legislature from ever
passing a law that would weaken the plebiscite process.

The initiative system has allowed small groups to make changes that are
more extreme than the majority's views.

For example, a major poll this year found that 69 per cent of Americans
support harsh antidrug laws, and around half believe marijuana should
remain illegal. But in many liberal communities, marijuana is widely
believed to be no more harmful than alcohol, and addiction is seen as a
medical matter -- places like Mendocino County.

Actor Martin Sheen, who plays the president on the TV show The West Wing
and whose son, Charlie, was a drug addict until his father turned him in,
plans to run an ad opposing the plebiscite question during an episode of
the program that champions the values of electoral democracy. It may be one
of the few occasions when the two political systems appear to support one
another.