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Ballot Initiatives: Tool for Reform or Threat to Basic Rights?

Date: July 22, 2009

Time: 5:00 PM

220 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor
New York NY 10001

One of the toughest questions democracy advocates have to grapple with is the role of ballot initiatives - "direct democracy" in our policy making arena.

On the one hand, serious campaign finance reform, including public financing of elections, was enacted in three states - Maine, Massachusetts and Arizona - through citizen-initiated ballot initiatives, which, in the case of Massachusetts, was fought hammer and tongs by the entrenched political leaders. Few think this critical reform could have gotten off the ground through legislative action.

On the other hand, in May 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that under the California Constitution, the freedom to marry was a fundamental liberty, and that the equal protection clause protected people in same-sex couples from being denied that right. But in November, a bare majority of voters took away that fundamental liberty from the lesbian and gay minority in that state by enacting Proposition 8, amending the California Constitution to exclude same-sex couples from marriage.

In our constitutional democracy, should direct democracy through ballot measures be used to enable a majority to vote to take away the rights of a minority? Can voters in states with initiatives and referenda over-ride the equal protection clause of their state constitution? Can ballot initiatives be used to expand definitions of rights? Should certain types of questions be off-limits for ballot measures or require more than a majority vote? Are there limits to how much democracy we can allow through initiative?

Join us for a Demos Forum to discuss these and other pressing questions. The event will feature a panel of experts with experience on constitutional law, ballot initiatives, civil and LGBT rights, and direct democracy.

LIVE WEBCAST

About the Speakers:

Mark C. Alexander is a Professor of Law at Seton Hall University, and recently served as Policy Director for the Obama campaign. Previously, he served as General Counsel to Cory Booker in the 2006 Newark Municipal elections. He then served in the same capacity for Newark in Transition. Mark has also served as Issues Director for the Bill Bradley for President campaign and for Senator Edward Kennedy’s re-election campaign in 1988. Before that, he was a legislative assistant to Senator Howard Metzenbaum. At Seton Hall, Mark writes and teaches in the areas of Constitutional Law, Law & Politics, The First Amendment and Criminal Procedure. His scholarship focuses on the intersection of law, politics and government and on free speech issues, with an emphasis on exploring new constitutional approaches to campaign finance reform.

Kevin M. Cathcart, Executive Director of Lambda Legal since 1992, is a leading strategist and spokesperson in the movement to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people with HIV. Cathcart has made Lambda Legal an unparalleled national force through its far-reaching litigation and public education. A longtime leader in the lesbian and gay community, Cathcart previously served as executive director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) in Boston. Prior to GLAD, Cathcart was a staff attorney at the North Shore Children's Law Project. He also serves on the Steering Committee of the LGBT Executive Director’s Institute.

Steven Carbó has extensive experience in advancing civil rights, social justice, and community economic development at the federal, state and community levels. He currently serves as a Senior Program Director in the Democracy Program at Demos, which supports public policy changes that eliminate barriers to political participation, providing policy makers and activists with applied research, policy analysis and organizing assistance. Steven's varied professional experience has included work as Legislative Director for U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, Special Counsel on Environmental Justice for U.S. Rep. José Serrano, and Legislative Staff Attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. He has helped shape federal and state policies and programs on voting rights, fair employment, education, environmental justice, economic development, and affordable housing.

Leslie J. Gabel-Brett, Ph.D. is the Director of Education and Public Affairs for Lambda Legal, where she oversees communications, public education and outreach activities. Gabel-Brett has been an activist and policy leader for the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people with HIV, and for the rights of women and girls for over 25 years. Before joining Lambda Legal, she served as the Executive Director of the Connecticut Permanent Commission on the Status of Women for 12 years, and prior to that as the Executive Director of the nonprofit Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund. For more than a decade, she served on the Steering Committee of the Connecticut Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Civil Rights and of the Connecticut marriage equality coalition, Love Makes a Family. Gabel-Brett played key roles in several legislative and legal victories, including passage of state laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and instituting family law protections for same-sex couples. Between 1990 and 1993, Gabel-Brett served as the Chairperson of the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.

Kristina Wilfore has been the Executive Director of Ballot Initiative Strategy Center since 2002. She was one of the first progressive strategists to focus exclusively on ballot initiatives, and she brings over ten years experience with hundreds of ballot initiatives to BISC and BISC Foundation. Previously, Kristina directed the Center for Policy Alternatives Communications department and led training workshops for over 1000 state legislators and activists each year. Prior to working in Washington, DC, she helped found the Economic Opportunity Institute in Washington State. Kristina has been interviewed on Fox News, CNN, NBC and PBS’ NOW. She is a regular source for publications such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and The Nation, among others. She was recognized as one of Campaigns and Election’s “Rising Stars of 2004,” and she is the recipient of the Women’s Information Network Young Woman of Achievement Award.

To RSVP or for more information, please contact Jinny Khanduja at jkhanduja@demos.org or 212.389.1399, or click here.

This event will be webcast LIVE at www.demos.org.

With: Steven Carbo

Tags: Values & Politics | Other Election Issues