Benjamin S. Case is a researcher, writer, and long-time organizer based in the Rust Belt. He is a research scholar at the Center for Work and Democracy, where he leads the Ballot Initiatives Project, and he is a fellow with the Resistance Studies Initiative.
In Ohio, where the state legislature is solidly Republican, people voted directly to protect abortion rights and legalize marijuana last week. Once again, ballot initiatives have shown voters to be far more progressive than their lawmakers.
Ohio’s Issue 1 was about preventing a popular decision on abortion rights in the short term and undercutting majority influence over policymaking in the long term. Its failure is a win for democracy — but it’s part of a larger campaign that isn’t over yet.
In the midterms, ballot initiatives cut through partisan polarization to reveal majorities for higher wages, expanded health care access, and abortion rights. That’s why many state-level Republicans are attempting to undermine the ballot initiative process.
As our representative system has become less democratic and more oligarchical, ballot initiatives have become more important to passing majoritarian legislation. The Left should take note and proceed accordingly.