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National Initiative
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 -Act
 -Parrish Report
 -Rationale
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 -Action Plan

Senator Gravel

The National Initiative for Democracy includes both a proposed Democracy Amendment to the United States Constitution, which asserts the People's right and power to make laws using ballot initiatives, and the Democracy Act, a proposed federal statute which establishes legislative procedures and an administrative agency, the Electoral Trust, to create a Legislature of the People, operating nationally and in every state and local government jurisdiction of the United States. We, the People will have an opportunity to vote on this National Initiative in a national election conducted by the nonprofit corporation Philadelphia II.

Philadelphia II will present the National Initiative to all American voters for their decision in a national election using a process similar to the ratification process employed by the Framers of the Constitution in order to circumvent existing independent state governments. Philadelphia II is conducting the election for the enactment of the National Initiative because Congress has not, and evidently will not, enact comparable legislation or provide We, the People an opportunity to enact legislation to empower ourselves. As the 1st and 15th Amendments to the Constitution make abundantly clear, there is nothing illegal or improper about the People holding an election beyond the control of the government.

In the election to enact the National Initiative, We, the People will be voting for our sovereign right as human beings to exercise our legislative power to create, and alter governments, constitutions and laws. The election process conducted by Philadelphia II will adhere to election standards superior to those of state and local governments, and will be transparent and open to the scrutiny of the American public, thereby ensuring the integrity and fairness of the election. When a sufficient number of Americans have voted to enact the National Initiative, the self-enactment features of the Amendment and the Act, similar to those of Article VII of the Constitution, will formalize the People's decision, making the Legislature of the People the law of the land.

The Democracy Amendment, one of the two concurrent legislative proposals incorporated in the National Initiative, follows the format of previous constitutional amendments in its assertions. The Amendment dictates the concurrent enactment of a statute establishing legislative procedures and creating the Electoral Trust to administer those procedures. The Amendment further directs the Congress to appropriate funds for the operation of the Electoral Trust, and specifically prohibits organizations (as distinguished from natural persons) from contributing to the support of, or opposition to, any initiative.

The second proposal incorporated in the National Initiative is the Democracy Act which: (a) provides People the freedom to exercise their legislative powers independent of representative governments; (b) ensures that the People will have the proper legislative procedures to deliberatively act as lawmakers; and (c) establishes safeguards to enhance the integrity of the initiative election processes. Highlights of the Democracy Act are summarized below.

• Qualification of Initiatives

Initiatives can qualify for election in any of three ways:
• Referral by the legislature;
• Citizen petition; or
• Public opinion poll.
• Enhanced Integrity Of The Initiative Process
• The initiative process will be administered by the Electoral Trust, an independent agency of government.
• Campaign funding regulations will preclude all contributions by other than natural persons. Corporations, unions, political action committees and all other organizations will be prohibited from contributing financially or in kind to the support of, or opposition to, any initiative.
• Full financial disclosure, whereby each individual who contributes more than a specified amount in support of or opposition to an initiative will be identified in readily-available public records, along with any of the individual's relevant organizational affiliations.
• Neither the legislature, the executive, nor the judiciary may restrain or modify any initiative prior to its enactment. The legislature will, however, make public the results of a non-binding advisory vote on each qualified initiative prior to the election, and the judiciary may, when requested, review any initiative law, after enactment, for its constitutionality.
• A Strong Deliberative Process
• Public Hearings. An Electoral Trust Hearing Officer, together with initiative sponsors and representatives from the legislature of the relevant jurisdiction, will conduct full and open public hearings on each qualified initiative.
• A "Deliberative Committee" of ordinary citizens, selected at random like a jury by the Electoral Trust, will deliberate the pros, cons, costs and benefits of each qualifying initiative, amend the initiative if warranted, and report on its conclusions and recommendations.
• An advisory vote on each qualifying initiative will be conducted by the relevant elected legislature to assist the People in their deliberations.
• An intense public information campaign, administered by the Electoral Trust, will report to the public on the hearings; the Deliberative Committee's conclusions; the results of the legislative advisory vote; the societal, environmental and economic impacts; and the views of proponents and opponents of each qualified initiative.

Read the Democracy Amendment.
Read the Democracy Act.
View a Flow Chart of the proposed legislative process.

Unless the mass retains sufficient control over those entrusted with the powers of their government, these will be perverted to their own oppression, and to the perpetuation of wealth and power in the individuals and their families selected for the trust. Thomas Jefferson, 1812