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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Tasha Shangvi (561) 758-7974 www.VoteSmarterFlorida.org
VoteSmarterFlorida@yahoo.com
University
Students Work to Protect Voting Rights
GAINESVILLE,
Fla. – In response to the Florida Chamber of
Commerce’s attempts to reform the initiative process, students at the
University of Florida are taking an active role in defending direct
democracy.
A
group of 10 Bright Futures scholars and members of UF’s
honors program have created www.VoteSmarterFlorida.org,
an educational Web site that details the impacts of the Chamber’s
proposal. The students, under the supervision of nationally recognized
direct democracy scholar Dr. Daniel A. Smith, have put together a vital
resource for the citizens of Florida.
“I’ve
always been a skeptic of direct democracy,” Smith said.
“It’s not a panacea, but it’s the best we’ve got,
and it needs to be protected. With this site, people will be able to get
more information about the arguments surrounding constitutional amendment
reform.”
The Web site, which launched
this week, features summaries of current and recent initiatives and
explains why the initiative process is so crucial in preserving open
government. It puts Florida’s process in the context of the 23 other
states that practice direct democracy and provides talking points to
counter the Chamber’s arguments.
The
Web site also is an interactive tool that provides links for visitors to
contact their legislators or write to their local newspapers about why Florida’s initiative process should be protected.
“Most
citizens don’t realize how unique and important our initiative
process is,” UF freshman Tasha Shangvi said. “We are trying to change that. When
people understand the process, they will understand why we need to keep
it.”
Another
student, Ryan MacDonald, is troubled:
“I can’t believe that, in our democracy, the legislature
is trying to restrict my vote. The
popular initiative is integral to allowing citizens a voice in their
government.”
Smith
is Associate Professor of Political Science at UF. He is the author of Tax Crusaders and the Politics of Direct
Democracy (Routledge, 1998) and the coauthor
of Educated by Initiative: The Democratic Effects of Citizen
Lawmaking in the American States, to be published by the University of Michigan Press in 2004. Smith has written more than two-dozen scholarly
articles and book chapters on the politics and process of direct democracy,
including the campaign financing and role of political parties and interest
groups involved in ballot measures. Smith was a Senior Fulbright Scholar in
Ghana during 2000-01.
He
serves on the Board of Directors of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center Foundation (BISCF) and is
a member of the Board of Scholars of the Initiative and Referendum
Institute.
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