Today, we introduce our newest mini-series: Bite-Size Policy.

Bite-Size Policy is a collaboration with the Paul Douglas Institute, where researchers from this student-run think tank at the University of Chicago present their research in a way that enables our viewers to know the issues and what they can do about it.

In this episode, Jacob Leppek (MSCAPP '21) spoke with researchers Rory Gates (BA '22) and Jack Votava (BA '21) to discuss their recent paper on referenda. This paper examines referendum data from Illinois since 1980 on topics like criminal justice, government structure, and tax policy. They find that Presidential elections and higher voter turnout both significantly negatively impact pro-referendum vote share, and that the passage rate of each referenda varies significantly with policy topic area. During low turnout elections, referenda are much less likely to pass.

Podcast Production Credits:

Jacob Leppek, interviewing
Miranda Zhang, editing
Joana Lepuri, engineering and producing
Sowmya Karun, production assistance

Links:

PDI home page: https://www.pauldouglasinstitute.org
Referenda paper page: https://www.pauldouglasinstitute.org/Publications/Assessing-the-Illinois-Referendum-as-a-Tool-for-Democracy