After Britain’s decision to leave the European Union via popular referendum last month, political turmoil ensued. But don’t let the near-collapse of the British government make you think governments will be dissuaded from using this form of supposedly direct democracy in future: Referendums are more popular than ever. …
But, in our experience working on referendum campaigns around the world with a major polling firm, we have learned that referendums are vulnerable to a number of serious flaws—flaws which call into question claims that referendums are a more direct form of democracy than other types of elections, and which should make governments think twice before offering them.
Here are a few important things to consider: CONT.
Kristi Lowe & Kelsey Suter (Greenberg Quinlan Rosner), Politico