A referendum is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a new policy or specific law, or the referendum may be only advisory. In some countries, it is synonymous with and also known as plebiscite, votation,popular consultation, ballot question, ballot measure, or proposition.
A popular initiative is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. The hurdles the petition has to meet vary between countries, typically signatures by a certain number of registered voters.
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).
The Bavarian Senate was the corporative upper chamber of Bavaria's parliamentary system from 1946 to 1999, when it was abolished by a popular vote (referendum) changing the Constitution of Bavaria.
The Expropriation of the Princes was the proposed seizure of the dynastic properties of the former ruling houses of the German Empire during the period of the Weimar Republic. The princes had been deposed in the German Revolution of 1918–19. Dispute over the proposed expropriation began in the months of revolution and continued in the following years in the form of negotiations or litigation between individual royal houses and the states (Länder) of the German Reich. The climactic points of the conflict were a successful petition for a referendum in the first half of 1926, followed by the actual referendum for expropriation without compensation, which failed.
Referendums in Germany are an element of direct democracy. On the federal level only two types of a mandatory binding referendum exist – adopting a new constitution and regional referendums in case of restructuring the states. On the state level, all states have various types of statewide and municipal referendums.
A referendum on the remunicipalization of the energy supply in Berlin was held on 3 November 2013. Prompted by the Neue Energie für Berlin citizens' initiative in June 2013, it was approved by 83% of those who voted. However, the referendum failed due to insufficient voter turnout. 24.2% of Berlin voters voted in favor, but the quorum required 25% or more to do so.
A referendum on the archive law was held in Slovenia on 8 June 2014. Voters were asked whether they were in favor of the amendments to the law that were passed in January 2014. The amendments were rejected by 67% of voters, although the referendum was invalidated by "no" voters accounting for only 7.79% of all registered voters, well below the 20% quorum.
Deutsche Wohnen SE is a German property company, and one of the 30 companies that compose the DAX index. Previously listed on the MDAX, it replaced Lufthansa on the DAX after Lufthansa was downgraded to the MDAX because of losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Germany's largest real estate company for private apartments Vonovia took over Deutsche Wohnen, the second largest German company in 2021. Vonovia acquired additional shares and now holds 87.6 percent of Deutsche Wohnen. This created a European real estate giant with around 568,000 apartments.
Vonovia is a European multinational real estate company based in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. Its history goes back to Deutsche Annington, which merged with GAGFAH and was subsequently renamed Vonovia. The company currently owns around 565,000 apartments in Germany, Sweden, and Austria, establishing it a significant market player in these countries. Vonovia is a member of the DAX 40 and STOXX Europe 600 blue-chip indexes.
The 2021 Berlin state election, ruled invalid in 2022 and repeated in 2023, was held on 26 September 2021, on the same day as the 2021 German federal election, which also had to be repeated in parts of Berlin due to irregularities. Thus, the 19th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin was elected twice.
Federal referendums were held in Switzerland on 7 March, 13 June, 26 September, and 28 November 2021. Swiss referendums take three forms: popular initiatives, which are citizen proposals to create a new law and require 100,000 valid signatures on a petition to get on the ballot; facultative or optional referendums, which are citizen proposals to approve or reject a piece of existing law and require 50,000 valid signatures on a petition to get on the ballot; and mandatory referendums, which are required to revise the constitution, join an international organisation or introduce emergency federal legislation for over a year.
Katalin Gennburg is a German politician of The Left who has been a member of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin since 2016.
Katrin Schmidberger is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens who is serving as a member of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin since 2011.
The idea of unifying the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg has gained particular notoriety since German reunification.
The 2023 Berlin repeat state election was held on 12 February 2023 to once again elect the 19th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin as the 2021 Berlin state election held on 26 September 2021 was declared invalid due to irregularities. Also affected were parts of the 2021 German federal election in Berlin, these were repeated on 11 February 2024.
The state of Berlin has three instruments of direct democracy. These enable German citizen residents to directly influence policy, in addition to indirect democracy via elected officials in the House of Representatives. In addition, there are two instruments at the borough level.
The 2023 Berlin climate neutrality referendum, also referred to as Berlin 2030 climate-neutral, was a citizens' initiative launched in Berlin in 2018. It was the subject of a city-wide referendum on 26 March 2023, commonly called the Klima-Volksentscheid. Voters were asked whether the Climate Protection and Energy Transition Act of 2016 should be amended. The primary goal of the referendum was to legislate a goal of carbon neutrality by the year 2030 rather than the existing goal of 2045. Since the referendum proposed specific amendments to the law, its result would have been legally binding. In order to pass, the proposal needed to be approved by a majority of voters and receive approval from a quorum of over 25% of registered voters. While 50.9% of those who participated voted in favour, as turnout was approximately 18%, the 25% quorum was not met.
Ines Schwerdtner is a German publicist. Until the summer of 2023, she was editor-in-chief of the German-language edition of the socialist magazine Jacobin. Since then, she has been the sole editor of the Hyperpolitik Podcast. On August 25, 2023, she declared her entry into the Party "The Left"(Die Linke) and announced her intention to run for its list in the European elections.
Niklas Schenker is a German political scientist and politician from Die Linke. He has been a member of the Berlin House of Representatives since 2021.
