ABSTRACT
Referendums, especially of the self-determination kind, are typically major events for a national community and larger state. Indeed, they often represent critical junctures, that is, turning points in the political development of a society. A referendum where some type of change is endorsed can take a national community into a new constitutional direction. The rejection of alternatives to the status quo can close the window for change for a significant period of time. Moreover, referendums can affect the future of political parties and prominent politicians. The stakes of these events are therefore quite high. For this reason, there has been, in many instances, a particular concern with the question posed, the assumption being that the phraseology has an impact on the result. In Quebec, for example, opponents of independence felt that the questions from the 1980 and 1995 referendums were overly complex and misleading, something that explained in part the substantial support (especially in 1995) received by the ‘yes’ camp.
