"The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush"How to Impeach | Constitution | High Crimes | Cities and States | Grounds | Treaties | Articles of Impeachment | Process | History | Rules |
Impeachment by Ballot Initiative
Another useful tool for impeachment is the ballot initiative. These are usually placed on the city or state ballot and are voted on by the citizens. One advantage of this approach is that voters have to think about the issue before deciding how to vote.
Illinois Leads. Berkeley Follows. Who's Next?
The first cities to place an impeachment resolution on the November '06 ballot were the twin cities of Champaign & Urbana Illinois on April 11, 2006.
San Francisco placed an Impeach Bush advisory measure on the November ballot. [ADS]
Berkeley, California followed on June 27, 2006 often leads the nation in civil rights issues and was the first city to oppose Apartheid in South Africa and was among the first to oppose the Vietnam War. Their experience may serve as a useful model for others to follow:
- Constitution Summer article on Berkeley approving ballot initiative.
- Text and arguments on the Berkeley ballot initiative
How to Get an Initiative on the Ballot
The exact process for getting an initiative on the ballot varies from state to state and city to city. But essentially there are two main avenues: by gathering petitions or by having the city council or state legislature place it on the ballot. The Berkely initiative was placed on the ballot by the City Council.
- Look on state or city web site to find the deadline dates and procedures for your area. Try entering "yourstate government", or "yourtown City Council" or "yourtown city government" into Google. You can also look in the phone book, that thick paper thing that Grandpa uses, under "City Government". There is usually a section in the front for government. The City clerk would probably be the best source of this information.
- Draft an initiative. You might use our model resolution, or Berkeley's text.
- If you are gathering petitions then you will need lots of help. Try drafting folks from an existing organization, particularly if they have passed inititiatives in the past.
- If you are asking your City Council to place it on the ballot then the procedure would be similar to the one for having them pass an impeachment resolution directly.
Resources
- Resources for Intiative Campaigns - www.ballot.org
- Wikipedia section on Citizen's Initiatives
