ABSTRACT
For over 120 years, the initiative and referendum process, or direct democracy as it is known in most parts of the world, has been a tool to check the power of government at the state and local level in the United States. Former Governor William Janklow of South Dakota – the state that has the distinction of being the first to adopt the statewide initiative and popular referendum process in the United States – had this to say about direct democracy: “it is a tool of true democracy to allow citizens to participate directly in making the laws that affect their lives. People can define and decide the issue themselves if their elected officials aren’t doing things to their satisfaction.” 1
