In this reported series, Jenna Spinelle tells the stories of activists, legislators, academics, and average citizens who changed their cities, states, and the country by taking important issues directly to votes — like Medicaid expansion in Idaho, sentencing reform in California, and LGBTQ workplace protections in Ohio.

From The McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, When the People Decide explores the pros and cons of this largely overlooked tool of government and its impact in the last half century.

Learn more about the podcast at thepeopledecide.show and follow us on Twitter @PeopleDecidePod.

A campaign in Michigan to end partisan gerrymandering in 2018 is part of a legacy of ballot initiatives dating back to the 1800s. After becoming disillusioned with the results of the 2016 election, Katie Fahey took to Facebook to gauge the interest of grassroots mobilization amongst her colleagues, friends and family.

Now the executive director of a nonpartisan voter reform organization, Fahey shares how the ballot initiative excited everyday people about becoming active in politics, including its 10,000 volunteers, and how they were inspired to make political changes in their communities.

In this episode, host Jenna Spinelle explores the basics of the ballot initiative, the history of how it caught on in the United States, and the pros and cons that she will explore throughout the series.

Learn more about the podcast at thepeopledecide.show and follow us on Twitter @PeopleDecidePod.

Resources

Giving Voters a Voice: The Origins of the Initiative and Referendum in America by Steven Piott.

Katie Fahey's organization, The People

Katie Fahey on Twitter

From property taxes in the 1970s to immigration in the 1990s and the gig economy more recently, ballot initiative trends often begin in California. The state's Three Strikes law was no exception.

Enacted in California in 1994, with similar initiatives implemented in 22 other states that same year, Three Strikes was seen as necessary to ensure public safety and prevent violent crime. Since its inception, however, many criminal justice experts have debated whether the price tag of incarceration has been worth the taxpayer’s money—or if it’s preventing crime at all.

In the years since the Three Strikes propositions have entered their way into the criminal justice system, many reforms and repeals have been established to mitigate the unintended consequences that the initiative and its nuances have since revealed. Jenna talks to those impacted by the Three Strikes Law and the advocates who are fighting against it, and breaks down just how much work, and money, goes into fueling, and fighting, such a powerful ballot initiative.

Learn more about the podcast at thepeopledecide.show and follow us on Twitter @PeopleDecidePod.

Resources

Three Strikes Project at Stanford Law School

Repeal, Reinute, Reinvest California - Zakiya Prince's organization

State of Resistance by Manuel Pastor