Progessive Ballot Measures As a Tool
Location
PANEL: Politics Honors Pt. II
Wilder 101
Moderator: David Forrest
Document Type
Presentation - Open Access
Start Date
5-1-2026 4:30 PM
End Date
5-1-2026 5:30 PM
Abstract
As political polarization has increased, Democrats face a structural disadvantage at the national level specifically in the Senate and the Electoral College (Lee and McCarty 2019; Grumbach 2022). At the state level, a steady rise in Republican trifectas, where the GOP controls the governorship and both legislative chambers, also adds to the disadvantage Democrats face. In this context how can progressives pass policy? I argue that, despite recent efforts to make the ballot measure process less accessible in these states, ballot measures can serve as a means for progressive policy-making. Using an original dataset that looks at ballot measures on select issue areas across the U.S. from 2000 to 2024, I test whether ballot measures are able to overcome these restrictive barriers and advance progressive causes.
Keywords:
Ballot measure, Progressive politics
Recommended Citation
Epstein, Madeline, "Progessive Ballot Measures As a Tool" (2026). Research Symposium. 10.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/researchsymp/2026/presentations/10
Major
Politics
Project Mentor(s)
Jennifer Garcia, Politics
2026
Progessive Ballot Measures As a Tool
PANEL: Politics Honors Pt. II
Wilder 101
Moderator: David Forrest
As political polarization has increased, Democrats face a structural disadvantage at the national level specifically in the Senate and the Electoral College (Lee and McCarty 2019; Grumbach 2022). At the state level, a steady rise in Republican trifectas, where the GOP controls the governorship and both legislative chambers, also adds to the disadvantage Democrats face. In this context how can progressives pass policy? I argue that, despite recent efforts to make the ballot measure process less accessible in these states, ballot measures can serve as a means for progressive policy-making. Using an original dataset that looks at ballot measures on select issue areas across the U.S. from 2000 to 2024, I test whether ballot measures are able to overcome these restrictive barriers and advance progressive causes.
