Blackwell Reference Online

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A referendum (plural: referendums) refers to a vote by the citizens on a proposed or already existing law. In the early Roman Republic, the citizens were entitled to vote on laws passed by the Senate. In modern times, most state and national constitutions entitle voters to veto or support constitutional changes (e.g., in all US state constitutions except Vermont). Some countries and states – additionally – allow voters to vote on ordinary legislation, either upon the collection of a specified number of signatures (e.g., in Switzerland) or when the legislature submits a bill to them (e.g., in Denmark and Britain). Most sociological research has dealt with the determinants of the outcomes of referendums. Research can be divided into two categories: (1) actor-centered models (e.g., rational choice theories) and (2) structural models (center-periphery models and class analysis). In recent years, the former has dominated. Building upon behavioral models, scholars have emphasized that voters base their decisions on “information short-cuts.” Rather than having an encyclopedic knowledge of the issues, voters take their cues from factors such as, typically, who is behind the proposal ( Bowler & Donovan 1998 ). While this model has traditionally been most widely used in research on American referendums, it has more recently found its way into studies outside the United States, such as ... log in or subscribe to read full text