A Zócalo/New America Foundation Connecting California Event in partnership with the Bill Lane Center for the American West
Moderated by Joe Mathews, Senior Fellow, New America Foundation

In the fall of 1911, the new governor, a lawyer from San Francisco, convinced California voters to add the recall, referendum, and initiative to the constitution as a way to stop the political machines. These... [read more]

A Zócalo/New America Foundation Connecting California Event in partnership with the Bill Lane Center for the American West
Moderated by Joe Mathews, Senior Fellow, New America Foundation

In the fall of 1911, the new governor, a lawyer from San Francisco, convinced California voters to add the recall, referendum, and initiative to the constitution as a way to stop the political machines. These days, direct democracy, and the initiative process, is itself a machine, accessible only by interests and people with big money. After a century, join us at Zocalo as we ask: can California's experiment with direct democracy be saved? And if so, how? We'll hear from a panel of experts from California and around the world who explain how new technology and new research suggest a variety of ways that democracy might be returned to the people. Join the discussion with Kim Alexander of the California Voter Foundation; Bruno Kaufmann, Swiss-Swedish journalist and president of the leading direct democracy think tank, Initiative & Referendum Institute Europe; Paul Jacob, founder of the term limits movement and president of the Citizens in Charge Foundation, a 50-state volunteer network on direct democracy; and James Fowler of the University of California San Diego medical school, an expert on political participation and genopolitics (the study of the genetic basis of political behavior).

Free, reservations recommended at http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/upcoming.php?event_id=483. Open to the public. Hosted reception to follow event.