There is no modern political institution that is more democratic than the referendum. Popular elections of officeholders are commonly assumed to be the hallmark of a democracy, but this is a misconception. Although electing representatives is a process inherent in modern representative systems, it is not a process of direct self-government. Only the referendum exhibits democracy in its purest form. It is the Athenian assembly or the New England town meeting expanded in size to include the thousands or millions of citizens in a modern polity. It is the citizenry directly considering and voting on government policy.

Terminology

Although referendums are nearly as old as democracy itself, the term is not. The alternative term "plebiscite" has a much older lineage. It is derived from the Latin plebiscita, describing votes of the Roman plebs in the fourth century B.C.E. The term was applied...