Referendum

In addition, under the 1972 Local Government Act, there is a little-known provision under which non-binding local referendums on any issue can be called by small groups of voters. (2nd ed 2005) Outsourcing to India. ISBN 354023943X. As of 2004 the British government is currently committed to holding a UK-wide referendum on the new EU Constitution, as well as on any plan to adopt the euro as the UK's currency or to change from 'first past the post' to an alternative electoral system. 2004. There have also been referendums held at the local level on proposals for directly elected local mayors. Mark Kobayashi-Hillary. However many referendums have been held in individual parts of the United Kingdom on issues relating to devolution in Scotland and Wales, and the status of Northern Ireland. Outsourcing departments like Accounts, Payroll and Procurement is now common practice, as seen in August 2005 at the University of Portsmouth.

Referendums are rare and only once has a referendum proposal been put to the entire electorate of the UK; this was a referendum in 1975 on membership of the European Economic Community. It is argued a malicious implementation of the Higher Education Role Analysis (HERA) in the UK may force Higher Education administrative and support staff to prematurely retire or seek for new employment in other organisations, thus freeing of staff many departments which could then be effectively outsourced. Owing to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty a binding referendum cannot be held in the United Kingdom (UK). presidential candidate John Kerry blasted firms that outsource jobs abroad or that incorporate overseas in tax havens to avoid paying their fair share of US taxes during his unsuccessful 2004 campaign, calling such firms "Benedict Arnold corporations," in reference to the infamous traitor Benedict Arnold. Even referendums on tax cuts are often not passed. Democratic U.S. Citizens' initiatives are usually not passed. That database contains personal and work-related information, enabling employers to verify a staff member's credentials and allowing police to track the background of workers.

The decisions made in referendums tend to be conservative. NASSCOM, which is a forum of IT and ITeS companies, has attempted to address these fraud concerns in India by creating the National Skills Registry. However, the percentage of voters is generally very low, about 20 to 30 percent unless there is an election. Intel would not put up with such fraud. Elections are as well often combined with referendums. The report concluded that fraudulent practises such as "faking bills to claim your allowances like conveyance [and] drivers’ salaries" were some common malpractices in India. The votes on referendums are always held on a Sunday, typically three or four times a year, and in most cases, the votes concern several referendums at the same time, often at different political levels (federal, cantonal, municipal). The firings followed from Intel's internal Business Practice Excellence programme of expenses claims.

The referendums slow politics down. In 2005, Intel discovered and fired 250 Indian employees after they faked their expense reports. In many cases, the mere threat of a facultative referendum or of an initiative is enough to make the parliament adjust a law. Outright fraud is also a concern. The possibility of facultative referendums forces the parliament to search for a compromise between the major interest groups. (See the full report.). There are two types of referendums:. Citibank did not find out about the problem until the American customers noticed discrepancies with their accounts and notified the bank.

They are a central feature of Swiss political life. In April of 2005, a high-profile case involving the theft of $350,000 from four Citibank customers occurred when Indian call center workers in Pune, India, acquired the passwords to customer accounts and transferred the money to their own accounts opened under fictitious names. In Switzerland, there are binding referendums at federal, cantonal and municipal level. There are also security issues concerning companies giving outside access to sensitive customer information. Two, in 1957 and 1980, were multiple choice referendums. With these traditionally "safe" jobs perceived to be endangered, this raises questions regarding whether origin countries can maintain any comparative advantage given the losses in both low and high-value jobs. All have been non-binding, consultative referendums. Proportions of workers trained for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields fields in developing nations are viewed to outstrip traditional technology leaders such as the U.S.

Since the introduction of parliamentary democracy six referendums have been held in Sweden: the first was on prohibition in 1922 and the most recent on euro membership in 2003. There is also little incentive given that the jobs in their new field could also be outsourced as well. The Constitution of Sweden provides for both binding and non-binding referendums. Retraining to their current level in another field may not be an option due to years of study and cost of education involved. Any citizen entitled to vote in an election to the Chamber of Deputies may participate in a referendum. However, some of these workers are already highly educated and already possess a bachelor's and master's degree. It is forbidden to call a referendum regarding financial laws or laws relating to pardons or the ratification of international treaties. One solution often offered is retraining of domestic workers to new jobs.

The referendum is valid only if at least a majority of electors goes to the polling station. Policy solutions to outsourcing are also criticized. A referendum can be called in order to abrogate totally or partially a law, but only at the request of 500,000 electors or five regional councils. Dealing with lackluster outsourced service is a negative surprise after the money is already spent. The constitution of Italy provides for binding referendums. Customers only experience outsourced service and support after they have spent their money since sales is generally done in-house by the original company. However such a referendum can only take place in rare circumstances and so none has yet occurred. However, service and support are often not considered by customers as part of their original purchases.

The constitution also provides for a referendum on an ordinary law known as the 'ordinary referendum'. Defenders of outsourcing say if this were true, then companies would experience market forces compelling them to return service and support handling back from the outsourced company. However the role of the president is merely ceremonial and she cannot refuse to sign an amendment into law that has been legitimately approved in a referendum. Criticism of outsourcing from the public and media sometimes tend to concentrate on lackluster customer service and technical support being provided by either local workers who are not actually employees of the company, or by overseas workers attempting to communicate with Americans in broken or incomprehensible English. Constitutional amendments are first adopted by both Houses of the Oireachtas (parliament), then submitted to a referendum and finally signed into law by the President. Thus, outsourcing is criticized as it represents a new threat to labor, contributing to rampant worker insecurity, and reflective of the general process of globalization where the United States government fails to mediate business-labor relations in a way conducive to prevailing values that places the American middle class worker as a central priority. In the Republic of Ireland it is mandatory that every constitutional amendment be approved by referendum and since 1937 over twenty constitutional referendums have occurred. Outsourcing appears to work contrary to the claim that “free trade” will create the “jobs of tomorrow” in America when high-tech or high paying white collar jobs are transferred to or created in foreign countries.

The current Constitution of Ireland was adopted by plebiscite on 1 July 1937. This is especially true for high-tech workers who were promised the “jobs of tomorrow”- a phrase Bill Clinton iterated in 1994 to justify his conservative position on NAFTA. It was later modified to provides for the establishment of a committee by the parliament to be elected in December of 2005 to consider changes to the constitution in 2006. Outsourcing appears to threaten the livelihood of domestic workers and the American Dream. The coalition was designed to shift crucial decisions about government, the judiciary and human rights to a future national assembly. The poll of over 1,000 Americans was conducted in August 2004 (See Zogby International survey results online at zogby.com). The Iraq referendum was voted on by the Iraqi people in on 15 October 2005, two years after the invasion of by the United States led coaliton to oust Saddam Hussein. A Zogby International poll reports that 71% of American voters believe that “outsourcing jobs overseas” hurts the economy and another 62% believe that the US government should impose some legislative action against companies that transfer domestic jobs overseas, possibly in the form of increased taxes on companies that outsource.

The TCE has both been rejected by proponents of national sovereignty and by the left-wing liberal anti-globalization movement in France. Criticism of outsourcing, from the perspective of US citizens, by-and-large, revolves around the costs associated with transferring control of the labor process to an external entity in another country. The other EU countries, apart from Spain and Luxembourg, approved it during parliamentary votes. This debate did not center on problems of declining quality of customer services but on the threat to US jobs and work. The "Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe" (TCE) was rejected in France and Netherlands in popular referendums. The 2004 US presidential election race focused on outsourcing to some degree.
. It has been therefore argued that quality levels of customer service and technical support of outsourced tasks are lower than where they have remained 'in-house'.

The 1980 Quebec referendum and 1995 Quebec referendum on the secession of Québec are notable cases. Because "outsourced" workers are not actually paid agents of the company, it has been argued that there is less incentive for the agent to show loyalty or work ethic in its representation of said company. Referendums can also occur at the provincial level. In December 2005, nearly 50 people were indicted in connection with a scheme that bilked at least $200,000 from Katrina relief fund at Red Cross claim center in Bakersfield, Calif., which handled calls from storm victims. Although the Constitution of Canada does not expressly require that amendments be approved by referendum some argue that, in light of the precedent set by the Charlottetown Accord referendum, this may have become an unwritten convention. (See the full story.). The most recent was a referendum in 1992 on a package of proposed constitutional measures known as the Charlottetown Accord. For example, 40 million credit card numbers were stolen in June 2005 at CardSystems Solutions in Tucson, Arizona.

Referendums are rare in Canada and only three have ever occurred at the federal level. Advocates of outsourcing also claim that outsourcing-related fraud is insignificant, averring that such malpractices can occur in any country. Due to the specific mention of referenda in the Australian constitution, non-constitutional referenda are usually termed plebescites in Australia. ^[3]. Out of the 44 referendums held since federation in 1901, only eight have been passed, making the Australian referendum system one of the most restrictive in the developed world. Nationally, 70,000 computer programmers lost their jobs between 1999 and 2003, but more than 115,000 computer software engineers found higher-paying jobs during that same period. If a majority of those voting, as well as separate majorities in each of a majority of states, (and where appropriate a majority of people in any affected state) vote in favour of the amendment, it is presented for Royal Assent, given in the Queen's name by the Governor-General. ^[3] Drezner also points out that large software companies such as Microsoft and Oracle have increased outsourcing and used the savings for investment and larger domestic payrolls.

A bill must first be passed by both houses of Parliament or, in certain limited circumstances, by only one house of Parliament, and is then submitted to a referendum. Professor Drezner reports that for every dollar spent on outsourcing to India, the United States reaps between $1.12 and $1.14 in benefits. Approval in a referendum is necessary in order to amend the Australian constitution. That in turn makes us all richer.” ^[2]. Other voting methods that could be employed are Condorcet's Method and approval voting that are not subject to the effects of irrelevant alternatives and less susceptible to insincere preference intensity. ‘Creative destruction’ is a discovery process where we find ways to produce goods and services more cheaply. Critics of the Borda count argue that it is particularly susceptible to tactical voting and to the tactical nomination of candidates, and that it may produce results that are opposed by a majority of voters. The automobile cost the jobs of people who took care of horses or made saddles, carriages, and horseshoes.” ^[1] Walter Williams, another economist, said “we could probably think of hundreds of jobs that either don't exist or exist in far fewer numbers than in the past--jobs such as elevator operator, TV repairman and coal deliveryman.

The De Borda Institute argues that the Borda count would produce results based on consensus rather than majoritarianism; it is therefore suggested for use in plebiscites held in areas of conflict such as Northern Ireland, the Balkans or Kashmir. Economist Thomas Sowell from the University of Chicago said “anything that increases economic efficiency--whether by outsourcing or a hundred other things--is likely to cost somebody's job. Some groups, such as the Northern Ireland De Borda Institute, advocate the conduct of referendums using the Borda count form of preferential voting, and refer to such a vote as a Borda 'preferendum'. Because outsourcing allows for lower costs, even if quality reduces slightly or not at all, productivity increases, which benefits the economy on aggregate. In the 1977 Australian referendum the winner was chosen by the system of Instant Run-off Voting (also known as the 'Alternative Vote'). the firm is trying to maximize the quality of its product given cost (its productivity). In other words the winning option was deemed to be that supported by a plurality, rather than an absolute majority, of voters. A firm's motivation for replacing workers with machines is identical to the motivation for outsourcing, i.e.

In the Swedish case, in both referendums the 'winning' option was chosen by the Single Member Plurality ("first past the post") system. Some economists suggest that government training programs be provided. Swiss referendums get around this problem by offering a separate vote on each of the multiple options as well as an additional decision about which of the multiple options should be preferred. However, economists do concede that labor is not always perfectly mobile and that some workers may have difficulty getting new jobs. This can be resolved by applying voting systems designed for single winner elections to a multiple-choice referendum. Some argue that greater profits to the labor owners lead to higher consumption, which leads to further job creation, allowing those who lost jobs to gain jobs in other sectors of the economy. A multiple choice referendum poses the problem of how the result is to be determined if no single option receives the support of an absolute majority (i.e., more than half) of voters. Although workers’ jobs were lost from this replacement of workers with machines, the Ford Motor Company made more money by lowering costs (or increasing quality, thereby increasing revenue).

In Switzerland, for example, multiple choice referendums are common; two multiple choice referendums held in Sweden, in 1957 and 1980, offered voters a choice of three options; and in 1977 a referendum held in Australia to determine a new national anthem was held in which voters were presented with four choices. Economists argue that machines on the car assembly line must have a higher quality to cost ratio than workers because, if they didn’t, there would be no incentive for the firm to replace workers with machines. A referendum usually offers the electorate only two choices, either to accept or reject a proposal, but this need not necessarily be the case. Today these workers are replaced by machines because they are cheaper in the long run, produce better quality products, or a combination of both (the firm is trying to increase its quality to cost ratio, quality being defined by the consumer and inferred from revenue). If one issue is in fact, or in perception, related to another on the ballot, the imposed simultaneous voting of first preference on each issue can result in an outcome that is displeasing to most voters. American Motor Company Ford relied heavily on workers in the past to assemble car parts. A difficulty which can plague a referendum of two issues or more is called the separability problem. Some economists have argued that outsourcing is a form of technological innovation analogous to machines on a car assembly line.

Some critics of the referendum attack the usual practice of only offering the electorate two options, of either accepting or rejecting a proposal, in a referendum. That many large businesses outsource and continue to outsource suggests that in many cases outsourcing is successful in that it increases product quality, lowers costs substantially, or both. The repeated holding of a referendum on a single issue has been pejoratively referred to as the phenomenon of the "never-end-um". Proponents of outsourcing believe that arguing that outsourcing leads to lower product quality is pointless because if it were true, consumer demand will force firms to shift back to producing the good or service in-firm rather than out-firm. This is especially a problem where a proposal may be difficult to reverse, such as secession from a larger country or the abolition of a monarchy. If the company does it correctly, it benefits from higher profits. A further perceived flaw of the referendum is that in some circumstances the democratic spirit of the referendum may be flouted by the repeated submission to the referendum of a proposal until it is eventually endorsed, perhaps due to a low turn-out or public fatigue with the issue. The decision to outsource is like the decision to expand a business overseas, to incorporate computer technology, or to hire new workers.

Many of the arguments used by those who oppose the referendum are summarised in the following comment made in an interview in 2003 by the British politician Chris Patten concerning the possibility of a referendum in the UK on the European Union Constitution:. Critics of outsourcing often talk about outsourcing failures without mentioning instances of outsourcing success. Hitler's use of the plebiscite is one reason why, since World War II, there has been no provision in Germany for the holding of referendums at the federal level. The decision to outsource is like any other business investment decision in that there is risk. Some opposition to the referendum has arisen from its use by dictators such as Hitler and Mussolini who, it is argued, used the plebiscite to clothe oppressive policies in a veneer of legitimacy. In fact, many American companies like Dell have moved customer service divisions back to America as a result of poor quality ^[2]. Some argue that tools such as the referendum may lead to the "tyranny of the majority" and to the erosion of the rights of individuals and minorities. But the outsourcing firm has freedom to move a firm department or division back home if its profits are suffering as a result of poor quality.

Voters might furthermore be swayed by strong personalities, or the adverse influence of propaganda or expensive advertising campaigns. One criticism of outsourcing is that product quality suffers. It is also argued that voters in a referendum may be driven by transient whims rather than careful deliberation, or that they may not be sufficiently well informed to take decisions on complicated or technical issues. ^[1]. Examples of these would include laws abolishing slavery, granting universal sufferage and removing prohibitions on homosexual relationships in various countries. A recent poll of economists by the Wall Street Journal found that only 16 % of them saw outsourcing as having a significant impact on the overall job picture. As evidence, many critics frequently cite numerous controversial changes which did not appear to have the support of a majority of voters at the time and so presumable would have failed under a referendum but which are now strongly supported by the majority of voters. "Offshoring”, on the other hand, represents a relocation of an organizational function to a foreign country, not necessarily a transformation of internal organizational control.

Some opponents therefore insist that the referendum is used by politicians as a way of abrogating responsibility in the taking of difficult or controversial decisions. In short, “outsourcing” means sharing organizational control with another organization, or a process of establishing network relations within an organizational field. As often conceived by such opponents, representative democracy is a system in which elected officials are the exercisers of independent judgement rather than merely delegates bound to robotically carry out the wishes of voters. “Offshoring”, in contrast, represents the transfer of an organizational function to another country, regardless of whether the work stays in the corporation or not. Opponents of the referendum argue that representative democracy is superior to direct democracy. When this third party is located in another country the term “offshore outsourcing” makes more sense. Other advocates insist that the principle of popular sovereignty demands that certain foundational questions, such as the adoption or amendment of a constitution, the secession of a state or the altering of national boundaries, be determined with the directly expressed consent of the people. To be consistent, “outsourcing”, in corporate context, represents an organizational practice that involves the transfer of an organizational function to a third party.

Some adopt a strict definition of democracy in which elected parliaments are merely a necessary expedient needed to make governance possible in the large, modern nation-state; direct democracy is nonetheless preferable and so a referendum must always take preference over a decision of parliament. Note that “outsourcing”, “offshore outsourcing” and “offshoring” are used interchangeably in public discourse despite important technical differences. Advocates of the referendum argue that certain decisions are best taken out of the hands of political elites and determined directly by the people. In some cases, the agents are not allowed to even give out their real name. Nonetheless the referendum is sometimes the subject of controversy. The agents were often not able to tell the customer they did not actually directly work for the original manufacturer. Furthermore, in most jurisdictions that practice them, referendums are relatively rare occurrences and are restricted to issues of major importance. These agents generally worked in call centers where the information needed to assist the calling customer was indexed in a computer system.

Although some advocates of direct democracy would have the referendum become the dominant institution of government, in practice, in almost all cases, the referendum exists solely as a complement to the system of representative democracy, in which most major decisions are made by an elected legislature. In some cases these companies hired technical writers to simplify the usage instructions of their products, index the key points of information and contracted with temporary employment agencies to find, train and hire generally low-skilled workers to answer their telephone technical support and customer service calls. For example, in the Republic of Ireland only citizens may vote in a referendum whereas British citizens resident in the state are entitled to vote in general elections. The term "outsourcing" became more well known largely because of a growth in the number of high-tech companies in the early 1990s that were often not large enough to be able to easily maintain large customer service departments of their own. The franchise in a referendum is not necessarily the same as that for elections. This usually involves continued direct or indirect management and decision-making by the client of the out-tasking business. An alternative is to insist on a certain minimum absolute number of yes votes before a measure can be deemed to have been carried—or of no votes if it is to be deemed vetoed. A related term is out-tasking: turning over a narrowly-defined segment of business to another business, typically on an annual contract, or sometimes a shorter one.

This is intended to ensure that the result is representative of the will of the electorate and is analogous to the quorum required in a committee or legislature. Many companies, most notably Dell and AT&T Wireless, have gained significant negative publicity for their decisions to use non-US labor for customer service and technical support; one of the most prominent complaints being the expectation that the replacement staff will have more trouble communicating with customers. In some countries there is also a requirement that there be a certain minimum turn-out of the electorate in order for the result of a referendum to be considered valid. Due to this demand call centers have sprung up in Canada, China, Eastern Europe, India, Israel, Ireland, Pakistan, Philippines and even the Caribbean. In Lithuania certain proposals must be endorsed by a three-quarters majority. The logical extension of these decisions was of outsourcing labor overseas to countries with lower labor costs, this trend is often referred to as offshoring of customer service. However a referendum may also require the support of a super-majority, such as two-thirds of votes cast. The overhead costs of customer service are typically less where outsourcing has been used, leading to many companies, from utilities to manufacturers, closing their in-house customer relations departments and outsourcing their customer service to third party call centers.

In most referendums it is sufficient for a measure to be approved by a simple majority of voters in order for it to be carried. Outsourcing business is characterized by expertise not inherent to the core of the client organization. In countries, such as the United Kingdom, in which referendums are neither mandatory nor binding there may, nonetheless, exist an unwritten convention that certain important constitutional changes will be put to a referendum and that the result will be respected. Many companies also outsource customer support and call center functions, manufacturing and engineering. in Ireland). Business segments typically outsourced include Information Technology, Human Resources, Facilities and Real Estate Management and Accounting. In countries in which a referendum must be initiated by parliament it is sometimes mandatory to hold a binding referendum on certain proposals, such as constitutional amendments (e.g. Many companies look to employ expert organizations in the areas targeted for outsourcing.

In the United States the term referendum is often reserved for a direct vote initiated by a legislature while a vote originating in a petition of citizens is referred to as an "initiative," "ballot measure" or "proposition.". In theory, this business segment should not be mission-critical, but practice often dictates otherwise. The process of initiating a referendum by petition is known as the popular or citizen's initiative. Organizations that deliver such services feel that outsourcing requires the turning over of management responsibility for running a segment of business. In other circumstances a referendum is usually initiated either by a legislature or by citizens themselves by means of a petition. Outsourcing always involves a considerable degree of two-way information exchange, co-ordination, and trust. A foundational referendum or plebiscite may be drafted by a constituent assembly before being put to voters. Likewise, buying services from a provider is not necessarily outsourcing or out-tasking.

According to an authoritative study by Matt Qvortrup (A Comparative Study of Referendums 2006), only Sweden among democratic nations has not honoured the outcome of a referendum. Buying products from another entity is not outsourcing or out-tasking, but merely a vendor relationship. Nonetheless, actual political circumstances in countries that hold non-binding referendums are such that the results of such a referendum are usually honoured. Outsourcing and/or out-tasking involve transferring a significant amount of management control to the supplier. It is left to the government or legislature to interpret the results of a non-binding referendum and it may even choose to ignore them. Outsourcing is defined as the management and/or day-to-day execution of an entire business function by a third party service provider. A non-binding referendum is merely consultative or advisory. .

Referendums may be either binding or non-binding. EDS was the first company to establish the outsourcing business. However the use of referenda is deprecated by the Oxford English Dictionary which advises that:. Outsourcing became a popular buzzword in business and management in the 1990s. Referendums and referenda are both commonly used as plurals of referendum. Offshoring is similar to outsourcing when companies hire overseas subcontractors, but differs when companies transfer work to the same company in another country. Thus the direct vote that adopted the constitution of the modern Republic of Ireland is referred to as a 'plebiscite' while every subsequent such direct vote has been described as a 'referendum'. A related term, offshoring, means transferring work to another country, typically overseas.

The term referendum is usually preferred to describe routine votes held in liberal democracies. Outsourcing is a business decision that is often made to lower costs or focus on core competences. Plebiscites held by undemocratic governments may request approval for a radical governmental decree, or of the general policies of the government. Outsourcing (or contracting out) is often defined as the delegation of non-core operations or jobs from internal production within a business to an external entity (such as a subcontractor) that specializes in that operation. Plebiscite is also often the term used to describe a direct vote held by a dictator or an undemocratic regime, in circumstances in which a free and fair vote is impossible. ^  "Outsourcing is the Kool" (kOOL PEOPLE). The terms referendum and plebiscite are often used interchangeably but the term plebiscite is usually preferred in circumstance in which a decision is being made on fundamental issues of sovereignty, such as in determining national borders or adopting a new constitution. 3.

. ^  Should we “Save Jobs”? by Walter Williams. The referendum or plebiscite is a form of direct democracy. 2. Certain kinds of referendums held in some states of the United States are referred to as ballot measures or propositions. ^  “Outsourcing” and “Saving Jobs” by Thomas Sowell. This may be the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. 1.

A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. Universities in the European Union granted 40 % more science and engineering doctorates than the United States, with that figure expected to reach nearly 100 % by about 2010 according to Freeman's paper. The de Borda Institute is at [www.deborda.org]. were in science and engineering compared with a world average of 27 % and 52 % in China. Defining Democracy puts both two-option and multi-option referendums into their historical context, and suggests which are the more accurate measures of "the will of the people". He found that in the year 2000, 17 % of university bachelor degrees in the U.S. Emerson, P J. ^  This view is borne out by a recent study by Richard Freeman at the National Bureau of Economic Research in Washington.

2004 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast_with_frost/2954232.stm. Retrieved 13 Oct. bbc.co.uk. Interview with Chris Patten, EU Commissioner for External Affairs (2003).

Commonwealth, or Estado Libre Asociado, has won each of those referendums. Puerto Rico: Several referendums have taken place since 1967, including one in 1994 and another one in 1998, seeking an answer to the century-old question of what do Puerto Ricans want for the archipielago of nearly 4 million inhabitants: Independence (Comprising Republic and a Associated Republic , Statehood or mantain the Commonwealth status. This referendum was offered by the government as part of a violence minimization initiative known as project disarmament.. Brazil: In October 2005, 122 million voters have decided to continue to allow the sale of firearms in Brazil.

Also, in 1986 another referendum approved Spain's membership to NATO. Spaniards chose (94%) to change ("Referéndum para la reforma política", literally «Referendum in order to the political reformation»). Spain: In 1976 a referendum was held to determine if citizens wanted to change the political system (i.e., the dictatorship) or not to change it, after the death of Francisco Franco. state initiative is probably California's Proposition 13 which severely limited property tax increases.

The most famous U.S. However the constitutions of 24 states and many local and city governments provide for referendums and citizen's initiatives. United States: There is no provision for the holding of referendums at the federal level in the United States. France: In France a constitutional amendment must be approved by either a super-majority in parliament or by the people in a referendum.

Very few such initiatives pass the vote, but more often, the parliamentary counter proposal is approved. Often, parliament elaborates a counter-proposal to an initiative, leading to a multiple-choice referendum. Constitutional amendments are either proposed by the parliament or the cantons, or they may be proposed by citizens' initiatives, which—on the federal level—need to collect 100,000 valid signatures within 18 months, and must not contradict international laws or treaties. In many municipalities, expenditures that exceed a certain amount of money also are subject to the obligatory referendum.

Obligatory referendum: There must be a referendum on any amendments to the constitution and on any joining of a multinational community or organization for collective security. The facultative referendum is the most usual type of referendum, and it is mostly carried out by political parties or by interest groups. In cantons and municipalities, the required number of people is smaller, and there may be additional causes for a faculatative referendum, e.g., expenditures that exceed a certain amount of money. Facultative referendum: Any federal law, certain other federal resolutions, and international treaties that are either perpetual and irredeemable, joinings of an international organization, or that change Swiss law may be subject to a facultative referendum if at least 50,000 people or eight cantons have petitioned to do so within 100 days.