Vote “Yes” on a Constitutional Convention

Everyone knows we will be electing a new President in November, but virtually no one is aware of another extremely important question on the ballot—whether Connecticut should have a constitutional convention.

Our current state constitution requires that voters decide every twenty years whether we should have a constitutional convention, and I believe you should vote “Yes” in November. Our current constitution has been in effect since 1965, and it is time that we revise it to make Connecticut government more responsive in the twenty-first century.

Many of the issues I have spoken about in this column—reducing energy costs, lowering taxes, improving healthcare—often find a stagnant response at the State Capitol. While there are many well-intentioned people in both parties, our system is set up for gridlock and high levels of influence by entrenched special interests.

A constitutional convention would allow us to add two important elements to Connecticut state government—and bypass the politicians who oppose both these measures. First, we should create a right to voter referendum and initiative in Connecticut. Second, we need to end the “gerrymandering” that keeps entrenched politicians of both parties in power by drawing district lines to protect incumbents. These two fundamental reforms would allow more progress on issues important to your family, like energy, taxes, and healthcare.

Referendum and Initiative. I believe it is about time that Connecticut voters get the right to referendum and initiative—the right to overrule the General Assembly or propose your own laws by a direct vote of the people. You may remember that I co-sponsored a resolution this year to amend our state constitution to provide this right to Connecticut citizens – and that even though initiative and referendum is a right enjoyed by citizens of 24 other states, our General Assembly rejected our proposed resolution to implement it here.

Initiative and referendum is a way for Connecticut citizens to bring the issues they care strongly about directly to the voters – without having to depend on the General Assembly to take action. Such power could not be used frivolously. Under my proposed resolution, at least five percent of those registered to vote in the preceding election would have to sign a petition in order to place their proposal on a ballot and, once on the ballot, a majority of at least 60 percent of the state’s eligible voters would have to vote “yes” in order for that proposal to become law.

Initiative and referendum would give citizens the power to bypass the politicians and the special interest groups at the Capitol, and vote directly on issues themselves. While there would need to be some restrictions (e.g., you couldn’t vote to lower taxes without also lowering spending and vice versa), putting this right in the constitution would be a victory for all citizens no matter what your political leanings—because it would increase your voice in government decisions.

Ending Gerrymandering. Believe it or not, politicians in Connecticut draw the lines of their own districts—a process known as “gerrymandering”. And in what will surprise no one, the politicians draw the lines to promote their re-election by putting lots of Democrats or Republicans in the same district. In fact, both parties work together to protect incumbents in both parties.

In Connecticut, legislative and congressional districts undergo reapportionment every 10 years following the U.S. Census. Calling a constitutional convention would be a terrific opportunity to examine our reapportionment process with an eye to making changes designed to prevent gerrymandering after the 2010 census. Specifically, I believe we should take away the power of politicians to draw their own districts and adopt a process similar to Iowa. In Iowa, a non-partisan commission uses a computer algorithm to draw up three plans, and the legislature must choose one of them—or the computer creates three new proposals for them to choose from. The computer only uses four criteria (population, contiguity, compactness, and keeping towns in the same district), and ignores political affiliation. Thus, political games are taken out without removing democratic control of the process.

By voting “yes” on a constitutional convention, we can add these reforms to our constitution. By creating initiative and referendum and eliminating gerrymandering, we will weaken the power of politicians and special interests and increase the power of the average voter. While there is no guarantee these would be in a new constitution, I believe we owe it to our state to have the debate in a constitutional convention.