Why Citizens from Two Key States Are Trying to Change How Their Governments Work

5 min readThis Week in the Laboratories of Democracy(Permanent Musical Accompaniment to This Post)Being our semi-regular weekly survey of what's goin' down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin' gets down and where Gypsy Davey with a blowtorch, he burns out the camps.We begin in a couple of places—namely, Missouri and Montana, where the citizens are hanging onto their rights with both hands. From Bolts:After years of attacks on voters’ power to take matters into their own hands, democracy advocates are going on the offensive in Montana and Missouri. They’ve placed constitutional amendments on the ballot to declare that people have a fundamental right to popular initiatives. ...“There’s been sort of this death by a thousand cuts strategy here in Montana and I think across the country,” said Dani Hess, a spokesperson for the campaign that has organized the initiative on initiatives, which will appear on the ballot as CI-133. Organizers from many GOP-run states have shared similar concerns with Bolts in recent years as they have watched officials make it tougher to qualify popular initiatives and even criminalize parts of the process. “People are really frustrated with the government right now, and it is a really important time to protect the ways that voters can have a more direct say on the laws that impact their lives,” Hess said.By and large, I respect the initiative process as a proud legacy of progressive politics. However, I also acknowledge that it's been known to turn the ballot in California into the Book of Deuteronomy. But, as is the case in Montana and Missouri, when state legislatures monkey-wrench the process against the clear intent of the voters, it's time to roll out the big guns.Montana’s constitution already allows citizens to enact policy and pass amendments through popular initiatives; it has done this since 1906. But the upcoming amendment would enshrine the process into the constitution’s Declaration of Rights, adding a clause that would say, “The people have a fundamental right to exercise their powers of initiative and referendum.” The Missouri proposal, which will appear on the ballot as Amendment 6, would similarly declare that the “rights of initiative and referendum as set forth in this Constitution are fundamental rights.”According to Derek Clinger, a legal scholar who researches democracy in state constitutions, this would give popular initiatives “the highest level of constitutional protection,” known as strict scrutiny. Campaigns could then wield this to challenge state hurdles and restrictive laws. “If something impacts a fundamental right, courts are supposed to basically subject it to very rigorous questioning,” said Clinger, who works at the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School.In fact, the initiative process is responsible for one of the true eccentricities in American politics. In 1912, the voters in Nebraska adopted the initiative process. Twenty-two years later, George Norris, the great Nebraska progressive, led a successful initiative drive to convert Nebraska's state legislature into the country's only unicameral state legislature. And generations of bar trivia enthusiasts rejoiced.We move along to North Carolina where, once again, we learn that Republican ratfcking still has its eye on the sparrow. From The News & Observer:Election officials in Granville County received instructions from a former county Republican leader on what to say and how to vote during a contentious meeting on early voting plans this summer, according to texts obtained by The News & Observer through a public records request. Michael Magnanti, the former chair of the Granville County Republican Party, repeatedly texted the two Republican county election board members advising them on how to defend their decision to keep a popular early voting site in a racially diverse area closed—despite receiving extra money from the county to restore it.“Say we don’t agree,” Magnanti texted member Debby Butler. “... Just tell her we do not agree.” Throughout the meeting, Magnanti continued to tell Butler explicitly what to say to her colleagues, and encouraged her not to rethink her decision—even as she appeared to consider doing so. “Just vote no,” he said.These people needed help to say simply that they didn't agree? What is this, the robot army? Politics as ventriloquism? They should make this Magnanti guy drink a glass of water while the next meeting goes on.We move along to the state of Washington, where the state legislature sounds like a ton of fun. From KOIN:A Cowlitz County District Court Judge ordered Washington State Representative Joel McEntire, (R-Cathlamet), to delete all social media posts directed at Britney Brown and prohibited him from making any new posts about her or contacting her directly for one year on September 14. The order came as a judge granted her a protection order from the lawmaker.In now-deleted posts that were shared with the court, McEntire posted from his personal Facebook account: "Britney Brown. So fragile. It would be a shame if someone got your email and phone number and it were leaked. Maybe some artwork should be done to her vehicle." McEntire argued that those posts, as well as the many others he made regarding Brown, were free speech. He also alleged she couldn't be bothered by the posts since she makes similar ones.McEntire was elected in 2020 Washington's to 19th District, which includes parts of Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Pacific, Wahkiakum and Thurston counties. Earlier this month, the Washington Legislative Ethics Board fined McEntire $500 for a separate online interaction he had with a Lewis County constituent.We have got to stop electing sophomore pranksters of all ages to important government positions.And we conclude, as is our custom, in the great state of Oklahoma, whence Blog Official Ravine Assessor Friedman of the Algarve brings us a tale of mysterious pilferage. From Oklahoma Watch: Bart Perrier began his first term as Osage County sheriff in 2025 in shock. An audit found 796 unaccounted-for items and a mismanaged evidence locker. The missing items included 17 vehicles, 27 guns of varying sizes, 16 Flock cameras, and 20 Tasers. Auditors deemed the evidence locker uncontrolled because there were multiple master keys. “The first few months, my mouth was wide open every day,” Perrier said.Sheriff Perrier is not alone. Apparently, the difference between the offices of Oklahoma sheriffs and your average Walmart is not vast.Since 2021, the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector has identified more than 3,000 items unaccounted for in sheriff’s departments statewide. Missing body cameras, Tasers, laptops, printers and radios are common. Dishwashers, cars, refrigerators and meat slicers are some of the stranger lost assets. Is there a black market in meat slicers? A high-level ? And how, exactly, does someone slip a refrigerator under their overcoat and make it through the door?This is your democracy, America. Cherish it.