The main characteristic of direct democracy is that it gives the people a chance have an immediate impact on the decision-making processes that would otherwise be subject to the whims of individuals. For the given reason, a rift exists between direct and representative democracy. While one may call on direct democracy to rectify or control the actions of political leaders, the actions ought to remain within the confines of real democracy. For that reason, the strengths of the California State Legislature stem from the fact that direct democracy can reassure voters of a chance at law-making processes that the representative model denies their lot. Apparently, the notion of authority in the hands of the people makes them responsible for the government and at the same time highlights the democratic nature of the political systems (Field 69).
Still, the factors that bring the advantages to the table are also responsible for the demerits. Naturally, direct democracy weakens representative methods of government and further endangers the interests of the minority groups who are too few to singlehandedly influence an action at State levels. When power is in the hands of the people, only those who have enough influence at the point of contact will access it as the rest remain behind. Central to the given claim is the fact that voters may lack the right amount of understanding to address referendum problems such as those that could arise from Constitutional issues. The State Legislature ought to invest in the education of the voters and dissemination of information.
Thus said, it is only inevitable that the enactment of the 1990 “Proposition 140” would render the Constitution ineffective in recent times (Field 65-66). As per the terms of the document, State Senators and the Representatives can serve limited terms and at the same time, dictated the amount of money they could spend while in office and upon retirement. The State Legislature would be more efficient if the elected leaders have enough time to see the enactment of laws and implement them without worrying about their futures without retirement benefits.
Works Cited
Field, Mona. California Government and Politics Today. 13th. New York: Pearson Education, 2011. Print.
