Race and the Use of Local Initiatives in American Cities

This article examines the influence of constituent demographics on the frequency and success of local initiative contests. We find that local initiatives are more common and more successful in cities with higher levels of white racial prevalence, but that racial diversity replaces these effects as racially homogenous cities will qualify and pass more initiatives. We also find that racial diversity interacts with population size as the most qualified initiatives occur in larger racially homogenous cities. These findings contribute to our understanding of how modern racial relations in American cities may impact the growing prevalence of direct democracy in municipal politics.