Lose, Win, or Draw? A Reexamination of Direct Democracy and Minority Rights

Abstract

Researchers continue to disagree over how minority rights fare in direct democracy elections. The authors enter this debate by reviewing previous research and outlining more systematic criteria for assessing minority rights in the context of direct democracy. In applying these criteria, an analysis of direct democracy contests involving gay and lesbian civil rights suggests that minorities are more likely to lose in these contests. The authors suggest that the conclusions of previous researchers may have been premature and that their criteria should be applied to other minority groups.