Referendum is a form of direct democracy that gives citizens the power to decide on laws passed by their elected representatives. Proponents of referendums argue that, in the face of voter apathy and disillusionment with traditional forms of politics, they can help re-engage voters with democratic processes. In addition, referendums can be used to resolve political problems – for example, by allowing a governing party to address an issue on which it is divided (as in the 1975 UK referendum on whether the country should remain in the European Union, which was initiated by the governing Labour government).
However, critics of referendums point out that a central problem with them is that, as with elections, voters lack sufficient information about the specific proposals in question. This is particularly problematic when the issues in question are complex – for example, a referendum on electoral reform (such as moving from First-Past-the-Post to Alternative Voting), or when the results of a referendum will impact upon other policy areas such as taxation or foreign affairs. In addition, a referendum that combines multiple issues increases the risk that voters will confuse these separate issues and make ill-informed decisions based on partial knowledge or on unrelated factors such as economic conditions or support for the government.
Attempts can be made to address these concerns by implementing campaign regulations that seek to assure that referendum campaigns take place on a level playing field, that voters hear arguments from both sides of the argument, and that referendum questions are designed in ways that allow voters to make well-informed choices. These measures can include imposing turnout quorums, limiting campaign expenditure, requiring that all activities be channelled through officially sanctioned umbrella committees, and establishing public funding for referendum campaigns.
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