Democratizing direct democracy: Restoring voter competence through heuristic cues and "disclosure plus"

Lawmaking by direct democracy, whereby the public votes directly on initiatives and referenda, is an increasingly popular and frequent feature of American politics. But critics of direct democracy point out that voters do not know basic facts about basic ballot measures, seem confused about the issues, and appear unduly influenced by superficial advertising. It is argued that the source of voter confusion in direct democracy is not political ignorance or heavy campaign spending, but the scarcity of "heuristic cues" - cognitive shortcuts that voters customarily use to make political decisions. Under the "disclosure plus" framework presented, the government should attempt not only to produce heuristic cues in direct democracy through increased campaign finance disclosure, but also to increase public awareness of those heuristic cues by broadcasting them to the public in highly visible ways.