Periodic State Constitutional Convention Referendums

Vital reading for all politics students, this book teaches the history of the Periodic Constitutional Convention Referendum (PCCR) and provides modern-day case studies to enable you reach your own conclusions on the desirability of the PCCR.

The PCCR entails three popular votes that bypass a state legislature: whether to call a convention, who to elect as convention delegates, and whether to ratify a convention’s proposals. PCCR periods range from 10 to 20 years. The PCCR is currently in the constitutions of 14 U.S. states with a combined population of 88 million. By contrast, the 24 states with the ballot initiative have a combined population of 145 million.

The first half of this book covers PCCR’s democratic function and its structural-legal, intellectual, and political history. The second half of the book provides contemporary case studies of PCCR referendums in three states: Maryland, Alaska, and Rhode Island. Each case study focuses on a different aspect of contemporary PCCR politics. The Maryland case study focuses on the state legislature undermining PCCR as an institution, the Alaska case study focuses on the extraordinary amount of campaign spending per capita in Alaska compared to other U.S. states with any type of non-PCCR referendum on the ballot, and the Rhode Island case study focuses on campaign messaging strategies, including the proven template for defeating PCCR referendums.

An essential read for students and scholars of state and federal politics.