Rolling the Dice with State Initiatives

Although the political reforms that gave rise to the state initiative process in the United States were attempting to cut the power of interest groups to buy political outcomes, it has become evident that interest groups are heavily (if not predominately) involved in current initiative elections nationwide. Alexander (political science, Frostburg State U.) utilizes two case studies to examine the role of interest groups in state initiative ballots--the 1998 California Tribal Gaming Proposition and the 1998 Missouri Riverboat Gambling Proposition. Key factors such as political culture, demographics, party competition, and legislative professionalism are considered in the analysis of what impact interest groups had on the election. Alexander finds that monetary resources are a key element in allowing interested parties to obtain the necessary personnel for a "grassroots" campaign, a finding that contradicts traditional thinking about economic interests disadvantages in initiative politics. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.