Citizen Lawmakers

"[B]oth an engrossing history and a guide showing how citizens can make their own laws directly, at the ballot box, when elected officials are unresponsive." --Ralph Nader "As one of the nation's leading authorities on the referendum and initiative processes, David Schmidt has prepared a thoughtful, positive overview of one of the most significant electoral phenomena of our time." --Edmund G. Brown, Jr., former Governor of California "The definitive work on citizens and ballot initiatives... This study offers citizen activists a manual on how to run a citizen campaign during the ballot initiative revolution and presents, in the appendixes, a comprehensive data on initiative voting in each of the states. The contribution to citizen activism and participatory democracy is the most significant characteristic of Schmidt's volume. The book is well written, well researched, and important. Strongly recommended for citizens interested in being counted once again in the American political system." --Choice "An important work that addresses a wide audience... Unlike much of the work written on the subject, this book provides the reader with both the historical perspective and empirical data... This work should be read by those interested in the political process." --Perspectives on Political Science "The book may convince some readers that ordinary people make better policy than politicians do." --California Lawyer "Important reading for those who aspire to influence public policy... [Schmidt] is at his absolute best and the book is at its most invaluable when it focuses on how to effectively us I & R." --Chicago Enterprise"