Essay Sample on California's Hybrid Democracy: A New Way to Govern

Introduction

The decision by California to move to direct democracy was a move that was sorely intended to supplement the normal process of law-making and safeguarding it when either it refused to act or negligently failed. This, by default, made every California resident a lawmaker on the election date by giving them a chance to decide who and what they would want and eventually be accountable to themselves for their actions. This paper, therefore, seeks to further elucidate the Hybrid Democracy, citing examples in action specifically in California and outlining the impact it has had on the branches of government.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

It was the US founders belief that individuals who had been elected to represent the people of California would work in harmony though in different arms of the government by consulting each other, use deliberative processes to solve problems, regularly check on each other with overlapping powers, come up with effective public policies and create compromises. On the other hand, presidents and lawmakers would fairly compete for positions, and this process would be fair and free (Matsusaka, 260).

Nonetheless, in 1911, the lawmakers and reformers reviewed and removed these checks and instead implemented the initiative, referendum, and recall, and thus ended up creating a hybrid democracy in which the people could make their own laws without the interruption from the representatives. As a result, the first branch of government in California can be referred to as the people's power to rule themselves via the means of direct democracy.

The direct initiative at the state level gives the Californians the powers to propose changes in the constitution and or laws which is directed to all citizens to vote for or against without the participation of either the governor or the legislator. This initiative currently exists In 23 other states across the United States; however, the requirements vary from state to state. In these states, legislators are allowed to make changes and amendments to the measures before they are presented to the public (Matsusaka, 250)

In California, however, the legislators have no powers to make any changes to measures proposed by the Californians before or after the elections. They can, however, propose bond measures, changes to laws, and constitutional amendments, all of which emerge as suggestions either in primary or general elections and are subject to approval or disapproval by the public.

At the state level, the hybrid government covers all manner of subjects ranging from welfare, immigration, taxation, education, public morality, civil rights, and criminal justice (Matsusaka, 249). However, the most important are those that focus on political and government affairs with reforms that are geared towards changing the behavior of the elected representatives or change the rules of political participation.

Unfortunately, reforms made under the hybrid government are usually non-negotiable and cannot be compromised. Additionally, they cannot be amended or changed once they have been approved unless through the initiative process. One example is when voters in 2000 made changes to the juvenile justice system which required young individuals (minors) aged between 14 and 18 years to be charged in a court of law as adults. This was among other provisions related to parole and gangs. A lot of injustices arose from these changes, but it was difficult to amend them. In order to modify this, Governor Brown pushed for proposition 57 to the voters for which they agreed that the judges in place of the state attorneys should be the ones to determine whether or not minors should be treated and tried as adults and under which circumstances.

Direct Democracy at the Local Level

The three forms of direct democracy, i.e. referendum, initiative, and recall, can be found in every county, school district, and city within the state, and are ideally used more frequently at the local level than at the state level (Amar, 927). On a regular basis, the voters are called in to contribute to the changes in bonds, local laws, citizen initiatives, and the recalls of local non-performing officials. Consequently, the local measures are adopted more frequently as compared to other state propositions, unless the latter stem from a scandal making headlines or it affects the fortunes of deep-pocketed individuals.

Take the example of a local school's heated and controversial decisions that have to be made regarding the school board. This leads to the most recalls. Statistics show that 75% of all recalls are as a result of non-performing members who are often kicked out of the board-yet; they are rare occurrences, and so is the local referenda (Amar, 927).Over time, the citizens have had the power to create regulations through the local initiative, a process that has proven to be successful over time.

Most of the local initiatives brought about by the citizens relate to matters of development and growth, for instance, political reforms, land use, governance, local funding for education, and taxation. However, among the most recent initiatives is the legalization of Marijuana and how to regulate it, allowing housing development projects or protecting the open space, imposing term limits on the members of the city council, change of public employee benefits, among others. As such, the ballot initiative has focused on every kind of civil rights, public morals, and other liberties. It is now a requirement that every pornographic film actor wears a condom during the filming. This can be attributed to a county initiative measure B.

To say the least, the tools of direct democracy as mentioned above, that is; referendum, the initiative, and recall qualify California as a state in which its people have the power to make or reject rules, elect new representatives according to their best judgment or deject the low and underperforming representatives. This makes it one of the 11 states to give all powers to the citizens. Consequently, the unique brand of direct empowerment of the citizens sets it apart from the rest of the states.

From being the first state to recall a governor to being the first state to legalize medical marijuana, California politics becomes apparently different not only because of the hybrid government but also because of the policies that it has put in place that allows things to be run differently (Amar, 927).

The blend of direct democracy and a representative government in California gives its citizens tremendous power to rule themselves. Ironically, however, the citizens never feel as though they are in complete control. In such a big state with an ever-growing population, the implementation of policies is largely dependent on the amount of money/funds available. Whether it's as a result of the money that specific individuals have to run campaigns, spread their messages across different media outlets to reach as many people as possible or whether it is in the blocks of voters they can mobilize, the primary role of the initiative to give voice to the voiceless is often overshadowed.

This way, the initiative ends up creating 'winners' who get to create 'better' policies using public authority, which ends up suiting their interests and values. It also creates losers who if given the platform, and if they can, mobilize other people can create their vision of a good government through future ballots. This give and take is the essence of political struggle; however in a representative democracy, conflicts can easily be harnessed through compromise and deliberations among the elected representatives.

Unlike regular bills which are often passed through many people, a process that enables the measures proposed to be tweaked, changed, amended adjusted and reconsidered to suit the people, the initiative recall and referendum in the hybrid government have only one form and merely demand a yes or no response from the voters.

Conclusion

In conclusion, therefore, as seen from the document, the hybrid government gives its people the power to make and reject laws, as well as to elect and reject representatives. This in most cases allows people at the ground level to focus on the most pressing issues in which they feel should be given the priority. Nonetheless, there are shortcomings that are associated with this form of government. Among these is the difficulty associated with amending measures that have been elected into law. Hybrid democracy has proven highly effective in California meaning that it has well been adopted and is, in fact, beneficial to the state.

Work Cited

Amar, Vikram David. "Adventures in Direct Democracy: The Top Ten Constitutional Lessons from the California Recall Experience." Calif. L. Rev. 92 (2004): 927.

Matsusaka, John G. "Direct democracy and fiscal gridlock: have voter initiatives paralyzed the California budget?." State Politics & Policy Quarterly 5.3 (2005): 248-264.