• MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz
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    17 hours ago

    Does the US have citizens iniatives?

    This isn’t just a change.org petition. In the EU (and a lot of member countries) theres a system for citizens initiatives, which have the same or similar legal weight as laws proposed by legislators.

    That doesn’t mean the proposed laws get passed, but it does mean the people can bypass the politicians in order to at least get something onto the starting line.

    • ViatorOmnium@piefed.social
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      14 hours ago

      They had the “We the people” platform, started by Obama. But Trump started ripping it apart, and Biden pulled the plug on his first day in the office.

      And even then instead of being people driven, the US administration would choose what they want to address or not. For all the excesses of EU bureaucracy, there are plenty cases like this where it prevents politicians from ignoring people’s concerns; they can still refuse to act, but at least the petition system forces them to go on record.

    • ZoteTheMighty@lemmy.zip
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      17 hours ago

      Some states allow citizens to propose ballot measures if they get enough support, which then get put up to vote in the next election and become law, but both parties hate the practice and fight it wherever they can. No such thing exists at a national level though.