The initiative may take the form or either the direct or indirect initiative. Under the direct initiative, a measure is put directly to a vote after being submitted by a petition. Under the indirect initiative, a measure is first referred to the legislature, and then only put to a popular vote if not enacted by the legislature. In United States usage, a popular vote on a specific measure is referred to as a referendum only when originating with the legislature. Such a vote is known, when originating in the initiative process, as an 'initiative', 'ballot measure' or 'proposition'.
The initiative is only available in a certain minority of jurisdictions. For example:
The initiative has long been widely used in Switzerland, both at federal and cantonal level.
In the United States the initiative is in use, at the level of state government, in 24 states, and is also in common use at the local and city government level. The initiative has been recognised in the US since at least 1777 when provision was made for it by the first constitution of Georgia. However, the modern US system of initiative and referendum originated in the state of Oregon in 1902, when legislators adopted it by an overwhelmingly majority. The "Oregon System", as it was at first known, subsequently spread to many other states. Well-known US initiatives include various measures adopted by voters in states such as Washington, Oregon, and California, such as California Proposition 13 (1978), which limited real estatetax rates.
Provision for the initiative was included in the 1922 constitution of the Irish Free State. The initiative was hastily abolished by the government, however, when republicans began a drive to instigate a vote that would abolish the Oath of Allegiance. The Irish initiative was, therefore, never put into actual use.
Initiative & Referendum Institute (http://www.iandrinstitute.org/)
The National Initiative for Democracy (http://ni4d.us)
Alternative meanings of initiative
As an abstract quality in personal behaviour, initiative comprises the ability to initiate: to start an action, including coming up with a proposal and giving or helping without first being requested to do so.
The term initiative also appears in games such as chess and in military operations. "Taking the initiative" in this context can serve as a euphemism for attacking.
In role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, initiative is the order in which characters take actions.
Initialism originally referred to abbreviations formed from initials, without reference to pronunciation, but during the middle portion of the twentieth century, when they saw more use than ever before, the word acronym was coined for abbreviations which are pronounced as a word, like NATO or AIDS.
In the English language, the widespread use of acronyms, initialisms, and contractions is a relatively new linguistic phenomenon, having become most popular in the 20th and 21st centuries.
When initialisms are defined in print, especially in the case of industry-specific jargon, the initial letters of the full words are often capitalized.
An initialism is an abbreviation formed by using the first letters, or initials, of a series of words, for example BBC, IBM, or NATO.
The term initialism is often used by those who prefer to define an acronym as an abbreviation whose letters form a pronounceable word, like NATO or AIDS.
"Initialism" is then the name of the category for abbreviations that don't meet the strict definition of acronym and are pronounced as a series of the names of the constituent letters.
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