When Voters Pull the Trigger
Can Direct Democracy Restrain Legislative Excesses
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6301465 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Vladimir Kogan (0000-0002-9871-4065, The Ohio State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 297-325 |
| Publication date | 2016-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Legislative Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0362-9805 • E-ISSN: 1939-9162 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/lsq.12115 |
| OpenAlex | W3122313658 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 66 |
Direct democracy is sometimes described as a “gun behind the door,” but how do legislators react when voters pull the trigger? Leveraging the high‐profile referendum defeat of a controversial law passed by the Ohio legislature, I examine how legislators respond to voter disaffection. Using interest groups to “bridge” votes before and after the election, I show that the measure's defeat induced moderation on the part of the Republican legislative majority, while leaving the behavior of opposition Democrats largely unchanged. The results suggest that direct democracy has the potential to restrain legislative excesses and alleviate polarization in state legislatures
Democracy · Direct democracy · Economics · Legislature · Moderation · Opposition (politics · Polarization (electrochemistry · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Referendum · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 10 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,11 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2025 (9) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 10 |