Thanks for sharing your thoughts Naoki and Philipp—and while I’m sad it didn’t pass, I think getting 37% to vote ‘Yes’ to Factory Farming Abolition is actually really promising, probably more than my expectation would be. And as you point out, this was with the ballot asking for ‘as many demands as possible’, which suggests that there may be winning coalitions for subsets of the ballot along with some compromises.
Two quick questions:
Do you have any more detailed demographic data on the results? My expectation is that % in favour is correlated with younger and urban areas, which might suggest which locations further initiatives would be successful in.
Do you think there are any other countries that might be amenable to a similar campaign—or is Switzerland unique given that referenda can be raised via popular initative instead of through the Legislature?
Just want to say again I think this is inspiring work (even if it was unsuccessful this time), and a example of how EA can engage with democratic processes.
Absolutely. Broken down by age, the percentage of “yes” votes varies around 40%, with younger individuals tending to vote “yes” more than older ones (18-29-year-olds with a 43% “yes” rate and 70 years and older with a 27% “yes” rate). We had majorities in favour of our initiatives in basically all urban centres. Generally speaking, the more rural an area was, the higher was the rejection rate. Also, women (44%) were significantly more likely to vote for the initiative than men (30%).
Many states in the U.S. allow for referendums and initiatives at both the state and local levels. For example, California is particularly known for its use of ballot propositions. In Europe, some German Länder (states) also allow for forms of direct democracy. The specifics vary from state to state, including the number of signatures required to initiate a referendum, the topics that can be covered, and the binding nature of the referendum, but we definitely think it’s one of the most promising avenues for systemic change.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Naoki and Philipp—and while I’m sad it didn’t pass, I think getting 37% to vote ‘Yes’ to Factory Farming Abolition is actually really promising, probably more than my expectation would be. And as you point out, this was with the ballot asking for ‘as many demands as possible’, which suggests that there may be winning coalitions for subsets of the ballot along with some compromises.
Two quick questions:
Do you have any more detailed demographic data on the results? My expectation is that % in favour is correlated with younger and urban areas, which might suggest which locations further initiatives would be successful in.
Do you think there are any other countries that might be amenable to a similar campaign—or is Switzerland unique given that referenda can be raised via popular initative instead of through the Legislature?
Just want to say again I think this is inspiring work (even if it was unsuccessful this time), and a example of how EA can engage with democratic processes.
Thank you for your comment.
Absolutely. Broken down by age, the percentage of “yes” votes varies around 40%, with younger individuals tending to vote “yes” more than older ones (18-29-year-olds with a 43% “yes” rate and 70 years and older with a 27% “yes” rate). We had majorities in favour of our initiatives in basically all urban centres. Generally speaking, the more rural an area was, the higher was the rejection rate. Also, women (44%) were significantly more likely to vote for the initiative than men (30%).
Many states in the U.S. allow for referendums and initiatives at both the state and local levels. For example, California is particularly known for its use of ballot propositions. In Europe, some German Länder (states) also allow for forms of direct democracy. The specifics vary from state to state, including the number of signatures required to initiate a referendum, the topics that can be covered, and the binding nature of the referendum, but we definitely think it’s one of the most promising avenues for systemic change.