initiative, the originating of a law or constitutional amendment
by popular petition. It is intended to allow the electorate to
initiate legislation independently of the legislature. This
direct form of legislation, together with the referendum, was
known in Greece and other early democracies. It is practiced in
Switzerland. In the United States the initiative was recognized
as early as 1777 in the first constitution of Georgia. It was
subsequently adopted by a number of states and may apply also on
local and city government levels. There are two kinds of
initiative, direct and indirect. In both kinds of initiative a
certain number of signatures (usually from 5% to 15% of the
electorate in the district concerned) must appear on the
petition that proposes the constitutional amendment or
legislation. In direct initiative the proposed law is voted on
in the next election, or in a special election, after a petition
with the required number of signatures has been filed with state
or local officials. In indirect in