Online Voter Registration Stalls in California

Yesterday we put out this edition of CVF-NEWS about the cancellation of the Secretary of State's contract to develop VoteCal, a new statewide voter registration database.  The cancelled contract further delays the implementation of online voter registration, which was covered in the Los Angeles Times on Saturday. Excerpts of that article by Patrick McGreevy are included in the newsletter.

Parting Thoughts on the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy

The two back-to-back initiative conferences I attended in San Francisco last week were incredible - agendas packed with many speakers from all over the U.S. and the world sharing their experiences with direct democracy.

As a Californian, I take the initiative process for granted.  It's been around for almost one hundred years (next year is the initiative's centennial) and while I have often thought about ways it could be improved, these conferences have added a sense of scope and urgency.  There is broad consensus around the globe (at least among folks attended these conferences) that California's initiative process sets an example - both good and bad - for direct democracy.

Our process is much shorter than in other countries and even states, it  has practically no interaction with the legislative process (unlike other nations and states), there is no independent legal review of measures put before voters (as Colorado has) and despite all our disclosure, money used to qualify measures is not well-disclosed early on, and money given to nonprofits can be obscured from public view.

Basically, there is much room for improvement and this needs to happen not only because California voters deserve better but also because, whether we like it or not, California is setting an example for direct democracy around the world.  And I can think of a number of countries where the people living in them would benefit greatly if they could have a direct say on the policies and laws of their government.

I made lots of great new friends, both in the U.S. and abroad during my stay in San Francisco and hope in the months and years ahead we will work together to make the initiative process better in California and beyond.

The Omnibus for Direct Democracy

The initiative/direct democracy conference I'm attending in San Francisco is fascinating - one of my favorite things about going to conferences is meeting new people and learning about what they do to promote democracy, here in the U.S. and especially abroad.  One project I learned about is Omnibus for Direct Democracy -- an organization of folks traveling around Germany via bus since 1987, spreading the word to folks about the initiative and referendum process. Check out this video and this one too to learn more about their story.