Ballot Initiatives: Animal Activist's Success Tool

If the term Ballot Initiative sounds familiar, and you're confused about its meaning, here's an explanation I hope will make it easier to understand. 
Ballot Initiative Defined:
"A piece of legislation or constitutional amendment appearing on a ballot for citizens to vote on".
"Means by which a petition is signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters forcing a public vote."


Ballot Initiatives are being used by animal activists to get their agenda on a ballot and before the people for a vote.  Remember that voters from many ballot initiative states (24) are from large urban areas and can be easily swayed to sign a petition that is skewed to their agenda using signatures of the sympathetic ("Don't you want to save abused puppies?") as a tool.

HSUS Quote: "The Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection organization, supports the use of citizens’ ballot initiatives after more traditional forms of policy reform have been exhausted, and when politicians and state regulators are unresponsive to citizens’ concerns".


The Statement Below From an Animal Ag Alliance Report on TAFA (Take Action For Animals) Shows The Power Ballot Initiatives Have In Getting Animal Activist's Agenda Passed.
"The new agreement between HSUS and United Egg Producers to seek federal legislation for housing standards for egg laying hens was also discussed at both conferences. Audience members seemed upset about the agreement, noting HSUS "caved" by giving up its cage-free campaign. Others were frustrated because they had devoted time and energy to collecting signatures for the ballot. Kitty Jones, a 17-year-old student, was praised for her individual work of collecting more than 10,000 signatures for the proposed Washington state ballot initiative campaign. On the other hand, some of the activist groups viewed the agreement as a "monumental victory" for HSUS, although some attendees were wary of working with the agriculture industry. HSUS staff asserted that the biggest hurdle would be agricultural lawmakers in Congress".