Referendum
Ref`er`en´dum Pronunciation: r?f`?r`?n´d?m
| n. | 1. | A diplomatic agent's note asking for instructions from his government concerning a particular matter or point. |
| 2. | The right to approve or reject by popular vote a meassure passed upon by a legislature. |
| 3. | The principle or practice of referring measures passed upon by the legislative body to the body of voters, or electorate, for approval or rejection, as in the Swiss cantons (except Freiburg) and in various local governments in the United States, and also in the local option laws, etc.; also, the right to so approve or reject laws, or the vote by which this is done. Referendum is distinguished from the mandate, or instruction of representatives by the people, from direct government by the people, in which they initiate and make the laws by direct action without representation, and from a plebiscite, or popular vote taken on any measure proposed by a person or body having the initiative but not constituting a representative or constituent body. |
REFERENDUM, international law. When an ambassador receives propositions
touching an object over which he has no sufficient power and he is without
instruction, he accepts it ad referendum, that is, under the condition that
it shall be acted upon by his government, to which it is referred. The note
addressed in that case to his government to submit the question to its
consideration is called a referendum.
Australian ballot,
Hare system,
aye,
ballot,
by-election,
canvass,
canvassing,
casting vote,
caucus,
closed primary,
congressional election,
constitutional referendum,
contested election,
counting heads,
cumulative voting,
deciding vote,
direct initiative,
direct primary,
division,
election,
enfranchisement,
facultative referendum,
fagot vote,
franchise,
general election,
graveyard vote,
hand vote,
indirect initiative,
initiative,
list system,
mandate,
mandatory primary,
mandatory referendum,
nay,
no,
nonpartisan primary,
nontransferable vote,
open primary,
optional primary,
partisan election,
plebiscite,
plebiscitum,
plumper,
plural vote,
poll,
polling,
preference primary,
preferential voting,
presidential election,
presidential preference primary,
presidential primary,
primary,
primary election,
proportional representation,
proxy,
recall,
record vote,
representation,
right to vote,
rising vote,
runoff,
runoff election,
runoff primary,
say,
secret ballot,
show of hands,
single vote,
snap vote,
statutory referendum,
straw vote,
suffrage,
transferable vote,
viva voce,
voice,
voice vote,
vote,
voting,
voting right,
write-in,
write-in vote,
yea,
yeas and nays,
yes