How to Use direct democracy in a Sentence

direct democracy

noun
  • The voters can, in the purest form of direct democracy, vote up or down.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 22 Aug. 2025
  • To be sure, direct democracy is no guarantee of wise decision-making.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
  • Voting rights advocates say the trend betrays the promise of direct democracy.
    — Kate Payne, Sun Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Switzerland is a direct democracy, in which every federal law is subject to popular vote.
    — Jessi Jezewska Stevens, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
  • In turn, lawmakers have pushed to overturn those laws and are also seeking to completely overhaul the process for direct democracy this year.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2026
  • That process serves as Missouri’s most visible form of direct democracy and allows citizens to put measures to a statewide vote.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 20 Feb. 2026
  • That process serves as Missouri’s most visible form of direct democracy and allows citizens to put measures to a statewide vote.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Still, attempts to amend the constitution to allow for easier direct democracy failed earlier this year.
    — Troy Aidan Sambajon, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Apr. 2025
  • Kehoe called lawmakers into a special session to gerrymander the map and overhaul the state’s key process for direct democracy.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Kehoe called lawmakers into a special session to gerrymander the map and overhaul the state’s key process for direct democracy.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Roughly an hour later, Republicans also advanced a plan that would weaken the state’s process for direct democracy.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2025
  • In addition to the map, Kehoe also wants lawmakers to overhaul the state’s most visible form of direct democracy.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The best analogy to direct democracy in contemporary life is jury duty, which generally seems to go better than anyone expects.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
  • Throughout its decades-long history, the initiative petition process has served as Missouri’s most visible form of direct democracy.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 3 May 2026
  • But Kehoe on Friday wielded the powers of his office to move the income tax and direct democracy measures to the August election.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026
  • One key problem with California’s direct democracy is that voters are easily swayed by broad promises, but then lose interest in real-world outcomes.
    — Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 1 May 2026
  • The group argues that the ballot measure, called Amendment 4, misleads voters by burying its true intent — the direct democracy overhaul — under other bullet points.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The more than a century-old mechanism for direct democracy has been utilized by voters of both parties to bypass the General Assembly and put measures to a statewide vote.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 30 Aug. 2025
  • The lawsuit argued the measure, called Amendment 4, misled voters by burying its true intent — the direct democracy overhaul — under other bullet points.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2026
  • Missouri voters will decide next year whether to overhaul the state’s most visible form of direct democracy, a historic vote that will determine the success of future ballot measures in Missouri.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The initiative petition process serves as Missouri’s most visible form of direct democracy, allowing citizens to collect signatures to place measures on a statewide vote.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2026
  • The realtors argue that the ballot measure, called Amendment 4, misleads voters by burying its true intent — the direct democracy overhaul — under other bullet points.
    — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Kehoe, in a stunning decision, also called on lawmakers to overhaul Missouri’s initiative petition process, the state’s most visible form of direct democracy.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Republican state lawmakers voted to place the measure on the ballot during a chaotic special session, called by Kehoe last fall, that took aim at representative and direct democracy.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Republican state lawmakers voted to place the measure on the ballot during a chaotic special session, called by Kehoe last fall, that aimed at representative and direct democracy.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2026
  • The proposal takes aim at Missouri’s century-old initiative petition process, a form of direct democracy that allows citizens to collect signatures to place policies on the ballot.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 30 June 2026
  • The direct democracy measure, called Amendment 4, and the income tax plan, called Amendment 5, are poised to have the most immediate impact on Missourians.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026
  • In a statement following the vote, Missouri Jobs With Justice warned lawmakers that voters will have the final say in whether the direct democracy mechanism is overhauled.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Amendment 4 takes aim at Missouri’s initiative petition process, a more than a century-old form of direct democracy that allows citizens to collect signatures and put policy measures to a statewide vote.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2026
  • While most constitutional changes proposed through this form of direct democracy have been unsuccessful, the referendum on limiting the Swiss population is expected to be close.
    — Sam Forsdick, Fortune, 12 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'direct democracy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: