A referendum is where voters are asked to make a “yes” or “no” decision on a proposal or document. Contract Ratifications, Bylaw Amendments, and Budget Approvals are specific types of referendums, but a referendum can be any proposed change to binding documents or laws. State and federal governments use a referendum to allow voters to approve or reject a new law, proposal, or course of action. The three most common ways to present referendums on a ballot are a referendum with an attachment, a referendum with a summary, and a referendum with feedback.
Voters review an attached document and choose to approve or reject the proposed referendum.
The standard process for evaluating referendums is to have voters review the relevant documents and then vote either “yes” or “no” or to “approve” or “reject” using Plurality Voting.
Voters choose to either approve or reject the referendum by reviewing a proposal summary.
Another option is to insert the specific text of the referendum into the ballot. Voters view the text as part of the ballot rather than opening attachments. Voters review the proposed referendum, and select either “yes” or “no” or “approve” or “reject”. The vote is designed to only allow voters to choose from one of these two options. Voting can also be set up to optionally allow the voter to abstain to allow for voters who are unfamiliar with the issue or if they have a conflict of interest related to the issue.
Voters approve or reject the referendum and offer comments, feedback and suggestions.
As with all referendums, voters review the documentation and decide if they approve or reject the referendum. They vote either “yes” or “no”, only allowing voters to choose one of those two options, or abstain. In addition to approving or rejecting the referendum, voters can also add feedback to provide further insight into their decision or offer alternatives or suggestions.
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