The Citizens in Charge Foundation (CCF) is a
nonprofit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
,
non-partisan organization that advocates in favor of
direct democracy
Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate decides on policy initiatives without legislator, elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently establishe ...
. It was founded by
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
activist
Paul Jacob
Paul Jacob (born 1960) is an Americans, American activist, organizer, and advocate for legislative term limits, initiative and veto referendum rights, and limited government in the United States. He writes a weekly column for Townhall.com and his s ...
[ who has served as its president since its founding in 2001.
]
Activities
Litigation
* Filed an amicus brief written by Todd Graves in the successful case, ''Citizens for Tax Reform v. Deters
''Citizens for Tax Reform v. Deters'', 518 F.3d 375 (6th Cir. 2008), was a decision that overturned an Ohio statute that made it a felony to pay petitioners by the signature.
Background
The law at issue, Ohio Revised Code § 3599.111, went into ...
'', whereby Ohio's ban on paying petition circulators per signature was struck down in 2008. The state's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied.
* Filed Amicus curiae brief in ''Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action v. Granholm'' urging the court to allow the Michigan Civil Rights initiative Committee to intervene in the challenge to their successful initiative. The state officials handling the suit publicly opposed the initiative.
* Amicus curiae brief was filed in ''LetOhioVote.org v. Brunner'', a case calling for Ohio to abide by its constitutional requirement that new gambling allowances must be put to a statewide vote.
* Funded research and negotiations with Nebraska's Secretary of State in, ''Mann v. Gale'', wherein the Secretary of State agreed to standardize procedures used to verify signatures.
* ''Citizens in Charge, et al v. Miller'' challenged Nevada's narrow interpretation of the single-subject requirement for initiatives. This case was filed in federal district court in Nevada.
* ''Citizens in Charge v. Brunner'' challenged Ohio's arbitrary referendum title setting process. The case is pending in federal district court.
* CCF was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union in ''Citizens in Charge Foundation, Inc. v. Gale'', which challenged Nebraska's residency requirement, county-based distribution requirement, and requirement that petitions indicate whether circulators are paid or volunteer.
Reports
In 2010, CICF released a state-by-state report card that "assesses the restrictions and accessibility each state provides for citizen-led ballot initiatives and referendums."[
In the same year, Citizens in Charge Foundation and Citizens in Charge jointly commissioned Pulse Opinion Research to conduct a poll to determine public support for the initiative and referendum process.
]
Citizens in Charge
Citizens in Charge is a 501(c)(4)
A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exe ...
advocacy organization started by Paul Jacob in 2001 that works directly with public officials and voters to protect and spread ballot initiative rights. Citizens in Charge and Citizens in Charge Foundation are separate organizations. Paul Jacob also serves as president of Citizens In Charge.
References
External links
*
Organizational Profile
– National Center for Charitable Statistics ( Urban Institute)
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017
Political organizations based in the United States
Charities based in Virginia
Non-profit organizations based in Woodbridge, Virginia