Baden-Württemberg starts popular application: The way to the citizens' decision!

Baden-Württemberg starts popular application: The way to the citizens' decision!

In Baden-Württemberg, the possibility of political participation by popular applications and referendum is strengthened. A popular application is directed directly to the state parliament and deals with all aspects of political will formation, including possible drives. In order to submit such an application, the applicants must support at least 0.5 percent of the election eligible in the last state election, which in practice requires around 39,000 signatures, as SWR

If the popular application follows the legally correct procedure, the Interior Ministry is submitted and further edited. It should be noted here that at least 10,000 valid signatures must be collected for a successful referendum. After admission, voters can continue to join and contribute their support for the referendum in the period of three to six months.

The process of referendum

The procedure for the implementation of a referendum is divided into three essential steps. First of all, a detailed draft law must be submitted. After admission by the Ministry of the Interior, it starts to collect the necessary signatures. Finally, such a procedure must be supported by at least one tenth of all voters in Baden-Württemberg, which corresponds to around 770,000 voters. In the end, if the state parliament rejects the bill, a referendum takes place in which all voters can vote with "yes" or "no", as can be made by explained.

The necessary legal framework is recorded in Article 59, 60 and 64 paragraph 3 of the constitution of Baden-Württemberg. A law is decided by a majority of the valid votes and there are different hurdles, depending on whether it is simple laws or constitutional laws, whereby the hurdles for constitutional laws are higher, as in the report of the Bundesagen . In the event of simple laws, the supporters need the votes of at least one fifth of the voters entitled to vote, while for constitutional laws over half of all voters are required.

Citizen participation at the municipal level

At the local level, there are comparable procedures such as residents, citizens 'request and citizens' decisions, which also serve to participate in the citizens. Citizens' forums, which are initiated by the government, also found their place in the political landscape. These forums pursue the goal of gaining a various participant base and making recommendations to politics. It should be noted that the ultimate decision continues with the government and the parliament, which is supported by the specifications of the im Baden- Württemberg . In summary, the system of popular applications and referendums in Baden-Württemberg shows a deliberately structured form of citizen participation, which enables citizens to actively intervene in political will formation and to influence legal changes.