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9780472131198

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A major contribution to our understanding of direct democracy in the United States. The authors present some important challenges to the notion that ballot initiatives have positive spillover effects, and they base this challenge in a theory of conflict. --Todd Donovan, Western Washington University In this fascinating book, Dyck and Lascher show how direct democracy in the United States falls short of its democratic promise. Rather than cultivate political knowledge and interest, the politics of ballot initiatives instead serve to deepen partisan divides and encourage feelings of mistrust. This book is essential reading for those want to understand how citizens engage with politics in their states. --Jennifer Wolak, University of Colorado Boulder To the discussion of the rise of tribalism in American politics, Joshua Dyck and Edward Lascher offer new and provocative evidence that points to a factor that until now has gone unnoticed. --Steve Kornacki, National Political Correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC and author of The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism Does direct democracy boost turnout or leave voters feeling frustrated and powerless? In this snappy, data-filled, and much-needed book, two of the foremost experts on ballot initiatives marshal novel and persuasive evidence that the answer is actually yes. --John Hibbing, co-author of Stealth Democracy and of Predisposed: Liberals, Conservatives and the Biology of Political Differences

Dyck and Lascher show how direct democracy in the U.S. falls short of its democratic promise. Rather than cultivate political knowledge and interest, the politics of ballot initiatives serve to deepen partisan divides and encourage feelings of mistrust. This book is essential reading for those want to understand how citizens engage with politics in their states. --Jennifer Wolack, University of Colorado Boulder A major contribution to our understanding of direct democracy in the United States. The authors present important challenges to the notion that ballot initiatives have positive spillover effects, and they base this challenge in a theory of conflict. --Todd Donovan, Western Washington University

Author Information

Joshua J. Dyck is Associate Professor of Political Science and Co-Director  of the Center for Public Opinion at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Edward L. Lascher, Jr. is Professor of Public Policy and Administration at California State University, Sacramento.

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