 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Repeal of Law 17,448 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|---|
 Uruguayportal |
A referendum on repealing the law that abolished the petroleum monopoly held by ANCAP was held in Uruguay on 7 December 2003. [1] The proposal was approved by 64% of voters.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Repeal of Law 17,448 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
|---|
| Uruguayportal |
A referendum on repealing the law that abolished the petroleum monopoly held by ANCAP was held in Uruguay on 7 December 2003. [1] The proposal was approved by 64% of voters.
On 27 December 2001 the General Assembly passed law 17,448, abolishing the monopoly held by state-owned petroleum company ANCAP. The Broad Front collected 685,294 signatures against the law. A quorum of 25% of registered voters (607,301) was required to force a referendum. On 25 July the Electoral Court validated 662,675 of the collected signatures, and on 18 August fixed a date for the referendum. [1]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| For | 1,201,626 | 63.72 |
| Against | 684,129 | 36.28 |
| Unasessed votes | 38,010 | – |
| Invalid/blank votes | 133,384 | – |
| Total | 2,057,149 | 100 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 2,466,680 | 83.40 |
| Source: Direct Democracy | ||
Unassessed votes were those cast by voters away from their local polling station. These would have been counted after their right to vote had been examined, but as the result was not in doubt, the Electoral Court waived the count. [1]
A recall election is a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of office has ended. Recalls, which are initiated when sufficient voters sign a petition, have a history dating back to the constitution in ancient Athenian democracy and feature in several current constitutions. In indirect or representative democracy, people's representatives are elected and these representatives serve for a specific period of time. However, where the facility to recall exists, if any representative comes to be perceived as not properly discharging their responsibilities, they can be called back with the written request of a specific number or proportion of voters. Even where they are legally available, recall elections are only commonly held in a small number of countries including the United States, Peru, Ecuador, and Japan. They are considered by groups such as ACE Electoral Knowledge Network the most rarely used form of direct democracy.
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a public vote in the legislature in what is called indirect initiative, or under direct initiative, where the proposition is put to a plebiscite or referendum, in what is called a Popular initiated Referendum or citizen-initiated referendum.
Compulsory voting, also called mandatory voting, is the requirement in some countries that eligible citizens register and vote in elections. Penalties might be imposed on those who fail to do so without a valid reason. According to the CIA World Factbook, 21 countries, including 10 Latin American countries, officially had compulsory voting as of December 2021, with a number of those countries not enforcing it. Choosing a party to vote for is not obligatory, as blank votes can be cast, and are counted.
The Venezuelan recall referendum of 15 August 2004 was a referendum to determine whether Hugo Chávez, then President of Venezuela, should be recalled from office. The recall referendum was announced on 8 June 2004 by the National Electoral Council (CNE) after the Venezuelan opposition succeeded in collecting the number of signatures required by the 1999 Constitution to effect a recall.
In California, a ballot proposition is a referendum or an initiative measure that is submitted to the electorate for a direct decision or direct vote. If passed, it can alter one or more of the articles of the Constitution of California, one or more of the 29 California Codes, or another law in the California Statutes by clarifying current or adding statute(s) or removing current statute(s).
In the politics of the United States, the process of initiatives and referendums allow citizens of many U.S. states to place new legislation, or to place legislation that has recently been passed by a legislature on a ballot for a popular vote. Initiatives and referendums, along with recall elections and popular primary elections, are signature reforms of the Progressive Era; they are written into several state constitutions, particularly in the West. It is a form of direct democracy.
A referendum, in the Italian legal system is a request directed to the whole electorate to express their view on a determined question. It is the main instrument of direct democracy in Italy.
Referendums have been held in Australia to approve parliament-proposed changes to the Constitution of Australia or to the constitutions of states and territories.
Elections in Lithuania are held to select members of the parliament, the president, members of the municipal councils and mayors, as well as delegates to the European Parliament. Lithuanian citizens can also vote in mandatory or consultative referendums.
Referendums are held only occasionally by the Government of New Zealand. Referendums may be government-initiated or held in accordance with the Electoral Act 1993 or the Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993. Nineteen referendums have been held so far. Fourteen were government-led, and five were indicative citizen initiatives.
An abrogative referendum on the divorce law was held in Italy on 12 May 1974. Voters were asked whether they wanted to repeal a government law passed three years earlier allowing divorce for the first time in modern Italian history. Those voting "yes" wanted to outlaw divorce as had been the case before the law came into effect, and those voting "no" wanted to retain the law and their newly gained right to divorce. The referendum was defeated by margin of 59.26% to 40.74% on a voter turnout of 87.72% out of 37 million eligible voters, thus allowing the divorce laws to remain in force.
Electoral reform in Virginia refers to efforts to change the electoral system in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia has undergone much electoral change since its settling in 1607, many of which were required by federal legislation. However, it remains a relatively conservative state in this respect compared to California and others which have experimented with various alternative systems.
The Ohio Collective Bargaining Limit Repeal appeared on the November 8, 2011 general election ballot in the state of Ohio as a veto referendum. Senate Bill 5 (SB5) was repealed by Ohio voters after a campaign by firefighters, police officers and teachers against the measure, which would have limited collective bargaining for public employees in the state. The formal title of the proposal that this measure nullified is Senate Bill 5. Among other provisions, SB 5 would have prevented unions from charging fair share dues to employees who opt out. The process to place the referendum on the ballot for voters to decide was completed by supporters, as signatures were certified by the Ohio Secretary of State. The group behind the referendum effort was the political action committee We Are Ohio.
A referendum on an amnesty law was held in Uruguay on 16 April 1989. The amnesty had prevented the prosecution of the military and police who had been responsible for murder, torture and disappearances during the civic-military dictatorship between 1973 and 1985. The law was retained with 56% in favour of it.
A referendum on partially repealing the law on public enterprises was held in Uruguay on 13 December 1992. The proposed repeal was approved by 73% of voters.
The European Union Referendum Act 2015 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made legal provision for a consultative referendum to be held in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar, on whether it should remain a member state of the European Union or leave the bloc altogether. The Bill was introduced to the House of Commons by Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary on 28 May 2015. Two weeks later, the second reading of the Bill was supported by MPs from all parties except the SNP; the Bill subsequently passed on its third reading in the Commons on 7 September 2015. It was approved by the House of Lords on 14 December 2015, and given Royal Assent on 17 December 2015. The Act came partly into force on the same day and came into full legal force on 1 February 2016.
Four referendums were held in San Marino on 15 May 2016. Three of the four proposals were approved, with the repeal of law 137 rejected.
Election results in Maine comprise voting for local, gubernatorial and federal public offices, members of the state legislature, as well as ballot measures. Congressional elections are held every even year, and gubernatorial ones every off-presidential even year.
The Référendum d'initiative Citoyenne is the name given to the proposal for a constitutional amendment in France to permit consultation of the citizenry by referendum concerning the proposition or abrogation of laws, the revocation of politicians' mandates, and constitutional amendment.
A referendum on the Urgent Consideration Law was held in Uruguay to ask the electorate if 135 articles of Law 19,889 – approved by the General Assembly in 2020 and considered as the main legislative initiative of the coalition government of President Luis Lacalle Pou — should be repealed. It was the result of a campaign promoted by various social and political actors such as the national trade union center PIT-CNT and the opposition party Broad Front. On 8 July 2021, almost 800,000 adhesions were delivered to the Electoral Court, exceeding 25% of the total number of registered voters who are constitutionally required to file a referendum appeal against a law.
| Presidential elections | |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary elections | |
| Colegiado elections | |
| Local elections | |
| Referendums | |
| |
