ABSTRACT
The simplest way of ensuring that public policies match popular preferences for them is to let citizens vote directly on the relevant alternatives. This chapter discusses voting problems and paradoxes, before considering possible solutions. It looks at possibilities and practice in situations where electors vote directly on the policy proposals to be adopted. A point to note about popular policy voting is that the outcome usually favours the status quo in the standard two-option choice, between change and the status quo. Purposive policy voting is given its freest rein in referendums and initiatives, which by definition focus solely on policy. The body of laws relating to rights is termed the ‘constitution’ of a state, and in some democracies it has to be referred to in calling referendums and initiatives. Initiatives form a more potent vehicle for challenging government decisions in the inter-election period than thermostatic reactions or opinion polls.
