Show notes
Kelly Hall on how lawmakers are quietly dismantling ballot initiatives—and how voters are fighting back.
Ballot measures have become one of the most powerful tools voters have to bypass politicians and pass policy directly—from raising the minimum wage to expanding Medicaid to protecting reproductive rights. But according to Kelly Hall of The Fairness Project, that power is under coordinated attack.
In this episode, Jen Taylor-Skinner talks with Hall about the organization’s new report, Direct Democracy Under Assault, and the accelerating effort to weaken the ballot initiative process across the country. They discuss how lawmakers are changing the rules to make ballot measures harder to qualify, harder to pass, and easier for politicians to manipulate after voters have already spoken.
They also explore why these attacks are not just procedural—they’re a warning sign. Rights are often lost gradually, through technical changes and bureaucratic barriers that seem small on their own but add up over time. If voting rights are eroded drip by drip, Hall argues, direct democracy can disappear the same way.
This is a conversation about ballot measures, yes—but also about power, representation, and what it means when politicians decide they no longer need to listen to voters.
READ THE REPORT: ATTACKS ON DIRECT DEMOCRACY DOUBLED IN 2025
EPISODE CHAPTERS:
00:00 — What ballot measures are and why they matter Kelly explains the ballot initiative process and why it has become such an important democratic tool in an era of political dysfunction.
04:15 — The Fairness Project’s new report: Direct Democracy Under Assault Kelly breaks down the report’s central finding: attacks on ballot measures are accelerating fast.
08:20 — The numbers behind the backlash Jen and Kelly discuss the scale of the legislative assault, including the dramatic rise in anti-ballot-measure bills.
09:30 — Why the backlash is happening now Kelly connects the attacks to recent ballot measure victories, especially on reproductive rights.
11:15 — Why this isn’t just about abortion The conversation widens to include wages, Medicaid, voting protections, gerrymandering, and other policies voters can pursue through ballot initiatives.
12:00 — Who is behind these attacks? Kelly draws an important distinction between Republican voters and a small group of extremist Republican lawmakers attacking direct democracy.
14:45 — What it means when politicians refuse to listen to voters Jen and Kelly discuss the deeper democratic crisis revealed by these efforts.
19:20 — What would a healthy balance look like? A discussion about how ballot measures and legislatures might work together in a better-functioning democracy.
22:10 — Why voters split their tickets but support progressive ballot measuresKelly talks through the complexity and nuance of how people vote.
26:20 — How rights erode “drip by drip”One of the most powerful parts of the conversation: how democratic rights are lost gradually, through cumulative procedural attacks.
28:50 — The Florida exampleKelly explains how Florida has become a case study in making ballot measures harder to use.
32:20 — The Missouri exampleA look at how politicians use delay tactics and bureaucratic obstruction to interfere with the process.
36:50 — Fighting back: ballot measures to protect ballot measuresKelly explains how some states are going on offense by using ballot initiatives to strengthen direct democracy itself.
39:20 — Can there be federal protection for ballot measures?A discussion about the limits of federal intervention and why this remains a state-level fight.
40:20 — What people can do right nowKelly shares where the front lines are and how listeners can support this work.
42:20 — Why this matters even if you don’t live in a ballot-measure state
The episode closes with a reminder that these fights affect all of us.
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