First Five Now: Ballot Initiatives and the Power of Petition

The right to petition is the least known of the five First Amendment freedoms, according to the latest Freedom Forum survey, “The First Amendment: Where America Stands.”

But Americans use the right to petition more than they realize.

Hear from one expert on how the power of petition works through ballot initiatives, a grassroots tradition of American democracy.

Chris Melody Fields Figueredo is executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, the “go-to” organization for ballot measure advocates, which works with local, state and national organizers to support ballot measure campaigns.

She shares how petition plays a vital role in getting measures on the ballot and some of the key initiatives her organization is working on.

She also discusses some of the challenges the ballot initiative process faces in today’s political landscape.

“The First Amendment: Where America Stands” surveyed more than 3,000 Americans across geographic, demographic and ideological lines on their attitudes about the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.

First Five Now is a Freedom Forum conversation that explores topical issues and features current newsmakers who are using the five freedoms of the First Amendment to guide their work.