LAKE RIDGE, Va.--Citizens in Charge Foundation, a national voter rights group focused on the ballot initiative and referendum process, last week released the Virginia portion of its 2010 Report Card on Statewide Voter Initiative Rights.
And if the Old Dominion were a school kid, it would want to keep the report card away from mom and dad.
Virginia gets an “F,” according to the Lake Ridge-based organization.
Residents don’t have the ability to put measures on the statewide ballot, and while a process exists at the local level, it was not enough to raise the commonwealth’s grade in the report card, a review of initiative and referendum rights in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
“When it comes to providing citizens a direct voice in their government, Virginia flat-out flunks the test,” Citizens in Charge Foundation President Paul Jacob said in a prepared statement Thursday. “Now it’s time to take action to correct this undemocratic status. We hope to work with citizens and legislators in Virginia to enhance their First Amendment rights by providing initiative and referendum.”
The foundation’s report card details the policies and laws that restrict initiative and referendum rights and suggests reforms for each state to improve its grade.
The organization describes itself as “transpartisan,” which means it acknowledges all viewpoints and values solutions that meet the needs of all sides.
Staff writer Jonathan Hunley can be reached at 703-369-5738.
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