Periodic State Constitutional Convention Referendums

Vital reading for all politics students, this book teaches the reader both the history of the Periodic Constitutional Convention Referendum and provides modern day case studies to enable you to come to your own conclusions on the necessity of the Periodic Constitutional Convention Referendum.

The Periodic Constitutional Convention Referendum (PCCR) is currently in the constitution of fourteen U.S. states with a combined population in 2023 of 83 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 campaign finance--including the extraordinary amount spent per capita compared to other U.S. states with any type of ballot referendum—and Rhode Island focuses on messaging issues, including the government’s active involvement in messaging.

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