Lee County, a booming area on the Southwest coast of Florida, is one of many places in the U.S. where citizens may hold government directly accountable through ballot measures, specific proposals that are either voted up or down. The last ballot measure in Lee County was held on March 14, 2000 -- the day of the statewide presidential primary. Contributing Editor David Pitts examines the issue that faced voters there, a case study in how ballot measures work.

Jim Wood, a longtime resident of Lee County, Florida, knew instantly how he would vote when he learned that the Board of Commissioners (the county executive) proposed a sales tax ballot measure seeking voter approval to raise the sales tax from six to seven percent for five years. He went to the polls on March 14, 2000, the day of the statewide presidential Florida primary, and voted against the proposal.

More than 80 percent of those who cast ballots in Lee County that day voted the same way. The proposed sales tax increase was history. "I think most people here felt as I did," he says. "They should raise the money, if needed, in other ways."

Lee County is one of thousands of communities in the United States where ballot measures are commonplace. In the 26 states, including Florida, where they are permitted, voters may cast ballots on local or statewide issues directly, as well as hold elected officials to account on their overall records. Ballot measures are an example of what is known as "direct democracy" or "direct accountability." Although some political scientists and constitutional scholars question the validity of ballot measures in a representative system of government, polls indicate that more than two-thirds of voters support them.

The Stakes Involved in the Sales Tax Issue

The proposal to increase Lee County's sales tax "was an uphill battle that went downhill from the start," according to Mike Hoyem, a reporter who covered the story at the time for the News-Press, the dominant newspaper in the county, headquartered in its largest city, Fort Myers. The board proposed the one-cent increase to generate $310 million dollars over five years to be split by the county and its cities for a myriad of projects, including the building of parks, roads, libraries, hurricane shelters and an expansion of the county jail, he explains. "But they didn't advocate it very strongly or very well," he adds.

Supporters of the plan called the proposed tax increase a necessary investment in the county's future and the best way to raise the needed revenue. But opponents said the financial burden should be placed squarely on developers who had driven the need for increased county services. Instead of a hike in the sales tax, its opponents favored raising impact fees on new development and the issuance of bonds to finance projects, if necessary. How to finance the costs of public infrastructure associated with private development is an issue affecting many communities in the United States and around the world. In Lee County, voters have a direct say on the issue.

"I voted for the sales tax increase because it was strategically important for this community," says Steve Tirey, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Florida.

"But it wasn't just business people who voted for it. People who understood the complex arguments involved voted for it too." Although "this county has good planning, there is a need for $200 million of new infrastructure immediately," Tirey continues. There were options other than a sales tax increase to finance it, "but none that would work as well." He predicts a hike in property taxes in the future to cover the shortfall in needed funds and says a sales tax increase would have been a fairer option since every group -- property owners, renters, visitors and residents would contribute.

The Media Campaign

Both supporters and opponents of the sales tax increase took their case to the local media to express their point of view to county residents. Supporters organized a group named "The Committee for the Cents-Able Plan for Lee's Future," to spearhead the drive for voter approval. Gail Markham, chairperson of the committee, says "I am absolutely convinced the sales tax increase was the best way to go. Impact fees on developers are being raised the maximum amount allowable by law. They won't raise enough revenue." She confirms her group raised $200,000 from the Lee County Industrial Development Authority (IDA), a county agency, to finance the pro-tax position, which opponents claim tainted her effort.

A television advertising campaign that began six weeks before the election, was mounted. But the campaign backfired when it suggested that hiking the sales tax was a good way to raise needed revenue because it hit tourists visiting the area as well as those living in Lee County year round. Many county residents resented what they saw as an attempt to pit them against "snowbirds" -- the out-of-area visitors who are a vital part of the local economy. In 1999, almost two million tourists visited the county putting $1.2 billion into the local economy, according to government sources.

The television ads were called "misleading scare tactics and an insult to tourists," even by some who were in favor of the tax hike, says Mike Hoyem at the News-Press. "They just conducted a bad campaign." Markham agrees the ad effort was less than effective. "A Washington consultant was hired to conduct the ad campaign. He insulted the community and me," she says. "The ads ran right during the time the snowbirds were here." As far as the print part of her campaign is concerned, state election officials have imposed a fine of $400 for distributing illegal campaign literature. This follows a complaint by a private citizen, H.R. Blanchette, that campaign literature was distributed without the obligatory "paid political advertising," included.

Brian Griffin, president of the Council of Civic Associations, a network of over 100 civic and homeowner associations scattered across the county, agrees. "It was an inappropriate use of public funds for the IDA to allocate $200,000 of public money to support the tax increase," he says. Sources in the county government deny the charge, saying the money came from private sources, not taxpayers. But Griffin says he has filed a complaint with the Florida State Department of Ethics alleging that the action by the IDA "violated the state's sunshine laws, which require that meetings where county funds are expended be open to the public and pre-publicized."

As far as expenditures by his group, which championed the anti-tax increase, are concerned, Griffin says, "We spent just $12 on handouts. Our organization relied on nonpaid media coverage to get the word out, using techniques like 'letters to the editor' and media interviews." He says his group could not afford paid ads, but they weren't necessary anyway since the other side's ads alienated voters rather than convinced them." As far as the general media coverage, particularly that of the News-Press, is concerned, Griffin calls it "excellent. It was more than fair." However, Steve Tirey at the Chamber of Commerce, says the media coverage was "unfair" to those advocating a sales tax increase. The newspaper "had a particular editorial perspective which was not in favor of the tax increase," he notes. Its bias "was even evident in the news pages." As far as the paid advertising is concerned, Tirey says the hard data on the election supports the conclusion "that the ads did not influence the outcome of the election one way or the other."

The Rules for Ballot Measures

Typically, voters can have an issue placed on the ballot through a petition-drive -- the collection of a speficied number of signatures. Mary Pat Lenithan, assistant supervisor of elections, points out that this is the case in the rest of Florida as well. "A specific percentage of the signatures of voters in the prior election is required -- five percent," Lenithan explains. "Those in favor of a ballot measure must use small cards to collect the signatures and include the exact wording of their proposal," she adds. The county elections office verifies the signatures and reports the results to the Commissioners.

A ballot measure drive by the voters themselves, however, was not required in the case of the proposed sales tax increase last Spring because the board was obligated to place the issue on the ballot. In essence, the board held itself accountable. This is because in Florida, the state requires that a local-option sales tax must be submitted to the voters for approval or disaproval, explains Tirey. "In this case, the board had no option. It needed public approval for a local-option sales tax," he explains.

The procedures for ballot measures vary from state to state, says Kurt Wenner, a tax expert with Florida Tax Watch, a private, nonprofit, statewide organization devoted to safeguarding the interests of Florida taxpayers. "In Florida, the state government sets the parameters for ballot measures in the localities and the rules under which they can be held. Voters also can amend the state constitution through a referenda process," he adds. For example, "a few years ago, Florida voters passed a statewide measure limiting local property tax increases to three percent a year throughout the state."

Ballot measures provide "an opportunity for citizens -- on tax and many other issues -- to hold government directly accountable in a timely fashion," Wenner notes. The defeat of the proposed increase in the Lee County sales tax "is an example of that -- one of the most lopsided defeats of a government proposal I ever heard of." For the record, however, Wenner says his organization has compared Florida's state and local taxes with the other 49 states and that they are "lower than average."

The History of Ballot Measures

Referenda and ballot measures to hold government directly accountable go back to the earliest years of the Republic and especially to the first two decades of the last century, the heyday of the Progressive Movement, which was dedicated to making the U.S. more democratic. Although the rules for holding them vary from state to state, Florida officials, as well as their counterparts elsewhere, take elaborate precautions to make sure they are transparent and precise. This is necessary, in part, because all ballot measures -- indeed all legislation -- in the U.S. is subject to judicial review.

American political scientists make a distinction between a ballot measure, which allows voters to cast ballots on specific proposals, and a referendum, whereby state legislatures refer a proposed or existing law to the voters for their approval or rejection, says Thomas Cronin, author of Direct Democracy. Such direct democracy practices require an informed electorate and access to the media for all sides of an issue, he adds. In the case of Lee County, as in most jurisdictions in the United States, access to the media is not a problem. Not only does the First Amendment guarantee freedom of the press, but there also is a strong American tradition of local media, both broadcast and print. In Lee County, local affiliates of the major broadcast networks reach all the county's residents, as does the dominant newspaper there, the News-Press. All the local media carried extensive coverage of the sales tax issue. Local television stations also aired the controversial ads, which were paid for by supporters of the sales tax increase.

The Pros and Cons of Ballot Measures

Supporters of ballot measures regard them "as a useful check on ill-considered or dangerous actions by the legislature or executive and as an expression of direct democracy," say Jack Plano and Milton Greenburg, authors of The American Political Dictionary. Those who oppose them "regard them as an unnecessary check on representative government that weakens legislative responsibility," they add.

Opinions about ballot measures also differ among constitutional scholars. American democracy stresses the separation of powers among executive, legislature and judiciary. Direct accountability is somewhat at odds with the tradition of representative government in the United States established by the Founding Fathers. That is one reason why they are confined to state and local government and why political scientists stress that ballot measures should not be a substitute for action by lawmakers, but a supplement in limited circumstances.

Even so, as ballot measures have mushroomed in number over the last 20 years, so has opposition to them by a number of prominent academics and journalists. The most influential recent indictment of ballot measures is contained in a book by veteran Washington Post journalist David Broder. He calls ballot measures "alien to the spirit of the Constitution and its careful system of checks and balances."

In Lee County, however, most residents have no such reservations about ballot measures. Everyone asked liked them. In the case of the ballot measure proposing a sales tax increase, not only did opponents support this direct democracy tool, so did the supporters who lost so overwhelmingly. Ballot measures are "basically healthy; everyone should get involved," although initiatives proposing tax increases "are much more difficult to pass," says Steve Tirey at the Chamber of Commerce.

Gail Markham, of the Committee for a Cents-Able Plan, agrees. "Ballot measures -- absolutely support them." She is undaunted about the failure of her cause at the ballot box this year and says she will continue to try to convince voters that a sales tax increase is necessary. "It's a good idea. It's just that voters have to feel that way." She also stresses that, where tax increases are involved, the groundwork must be skillfully laid by proponents. The board "did not carefully and specifically identify the projects the money would be used for," she says, a viewpoint with which her opponent, citizen activist Brian Griffin, agrees.

"People have to know what they are voting for," Griffin says. "A proposed sales tax increase in (nearby) Charlotte County was placed on the ballot and passed in 1994 because the county had a very specific purpose for the revenue. But here in Lee County, the Board did not properly identify what they needed the money for. Tax increases can pass here, and have passed here, if the voters know specifically how the extra monies will be expended."

Even Griffin, however, who strongly backs ballot measures, believes they should not be overused. "We should not routinely legislate by ballot measure," he says. "You can't micromanage government in that way. But where citizens' pocketbooks are involved particularly, ballot measures have a role." Concerning the success of his campaign against the sales tax increase in Lee County, Griffin is philosophical. "We were the little guys in terms of money in this fight. But the little guys won," he says.

That is certainly the view of county residents like Jim Wood. "We're taxed like crazy here," he says. "I think ballot measures are a great idea, especially if it's about something that affects your pocketbook. I just wish more people would participate in something that directly affects them and not take democracy for granted."

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