The Initiative and Referendum Institute (IRI) is a project of the University of Southern California (USC) Gould School of Law that studies the history and impact of the initiative and referendum process in the United States. IRI produces research, data, papers, and state-by-state guides for students, activists, academics, and governments to understand how direct democracy operates through the initiative and referendum process. IRI was founded in 1998 as an independent organization and became a part of USC in 2006. ¹

History and Activities

The Initiative and Referendum Institute was founded by Dan Waters in 1998 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational center focused on the impact of the initiative and referendum process in U.S. politics. IRI provides information through published papers, monographs, and state-by-state guides to students, activists, academics, citizens, and governments on the initiative and referendum process. In particular, the Institute studies when and why the public uses initiatives and referendums to alter state and local laws. In 2006, the Institute formally became a part of the University of Southern California under the direction of Professor John Matsusaka. ²

IRI hosts a state-by-state repository of information on direct democracy. This repository lists which states allow referendums, which allow initiatives, if initiatives can be used for constitutional amendments or statutes, and whether initiatives for constitutional amendments and statutes are direct or indirect. The Institute also provides an in-depth history and relevant information on every state’s initiative and referendum process. ³

Additionally, through a publication called Ballotwatch, IRI collects information on initiatives and referendums each year in elections throughout the United States, including a preview of the types of initiatives and referendums being votes on in various state elections each year as well as the results of those elections. IRI includes brief political analysis in its publication of initiative and referendum election results. For example, in 2023 IRI wrote that an Ohio attempt to raise the threshold for Constitutional amendments from a simple majority vote to a 60% threshold was “a somewhat cynical attempt to manipulate direct democratic rules” and that Ohio voters approving abortion rights and recreational marijuana use suggests that the state’s “political leaders might be leaning too far to the right compared to what the state’s electorate would like.” ^{4 5}

IRI also produces in depth reports including academic books on direct democracy, extensive studies on initiatives and referendums, and data compilations based on the Institute’s studies. ⁶

People

The primary contacts for the Initiative and Referendum Institute are John Matsusaka, the organization’s executive director, and Dane Waters, the organization’s founder. Matsusaka is the Charles F. Sexton Chair in American Enterprise at the University of Southern California. Previously he was a visiting professor and scholar at Caltech and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, was a professor at the USC Marshall School of Business, and has held various administrative and academic positions at USC. Matsusaka became the executive director of the Initiative and Referendum Institute in 2004. Waters was previously the CEO of Tipping Point Strategies, a communications, fundraising, and advocacy firm in Washington, D.C., and is the founder and president of the Elephant Project, an organization that uses market principles to protect elephants. ^{7 8 9 10}

Similar Organizations

On its website, Initiative and Referendum Institute directs readers to find additional “nonpartisan information on direct democracy” at the independent state-politics information resource Ballotpedia or the National Conference of State Legislatures, a national association funded by the state and territorial legislatures in the united states that has historically promoted left-of-center public policy at the state level. ¹¹

IRI also directs readers to a sister organization called the Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe (IRI Europe) based in Lucerne, Switzerland, and founded in 2001 in partnership with the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy Process. IRI Europe is a project of the Swiss Democracy Foundation and researches and educates on direct democracy. ^{12 13}

1. “What is the Initiative and Referendum Institute.” Initiative and Referendum Institute. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.initiativeandreferenduminstitute.org/about-iri-usc.
2. “What is the Initiative and Referendum Institute.” Initiative and Referendum Institute. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.initiativeandreferenduminstitute.org/about-iri-usc.
3. “Directo Democracy in Your State.” Initiative and Referendum Institute. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.initiativeandreferenduminstitute.org/dd-in-your-state.
4. “Ballotwatch.” Initiative and Referendum Institute. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.initiativeandreferenduminstitute.org/ballotwatch.
5. “Ballotwatch: Election Results 2023.” Initiative and Referendum Institute. 2023. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64fb2a824bc4a564c732b324/t/65b12bbb07b3253f1b0cf1f2/1706109884001/BW+2023-2+Results+2023.pdf.
6. “Direct Democracy In Depth.” Initiative and Referendum Institute. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.initiativeandreferenduminstitute.org/dd-in-depth.
7. “Contact Us.” Initiative and Referendum Institute. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.initiativeandreferenduminstitute.org/contact.
8. “What is the Initiative and Referendum Institute.” Initiative and Referendum Institute. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.initiativeandreferenduminstitute.org/about-iri-usc.
9. “John Matsusaka.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-matsusaka-80a0033/details/experience/.
10. “M. Dane Waters.” LinkedIn. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdanewaters/.
11. “Initiative and Referendum Institute.” Initiative and Referendum Institute. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.initiativeandreferenduminstitute.org/.
12. “Europe’s Global Direct Democracy Think Tank.” IRI Europe. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.iri-europe.org/
13. “What is the Initiative and Referendum Institute.” Initiative and Referendum Institute. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.initiativeandreferenduminstitute.org/about-iri-usc.