While partisan gridlock has become a common occurrence in the US Congress, this is also often the case in many state legislatures. In new research, Frederick J. Boehmke, Tracy L. Osborn, and Emily U. Schilling look at one consequence of legislative rules that encourage legislative paralysis – the increasing use of ballot initiatives by citizens. Using data from the American states, they find that as ‘pivotal legislators’ – gatekeepers whose support is needed to overcome a legislative filibuster or gubernatorial veto – become ideologically farther away from the state’s median voter, initiative use increases due to those lawmakers thwarting legislative action to secure preferred outcomes in the form of ballot measures.
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机译：尽管党派僵局已在美国国会中屡见不鲜，但在许多州立法机关中也经常如此。在新的研究中，弗雷德里克·J·勃姆克（Frederick J. Boehmke），特蕾西·奥斯本（Tracy L. Osborn）和艾米丽·U·席林（Emily U. Schilling）研究了鼓励立法瘫痪的立法规则的后果–公民越来越多地使用投票倡议。利用来自美国各州的数据，他们发现随着“主要立法者”（需要守卫者的支持以克服立法上的反对派或州长否决权）在意识形态上与该州中位选民之间的距离越来越远，由于这些立法者阻碍了立法行动，主动使用率有所增加以投票方式确保取得理想的结果。
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