Study up, voters: Complex initiatives await you

Initiative campaigns are largely a phenomenon of America's Western states, said Todd Donovan, a political-science professor at Western Washington University who has authored books and articles on the process.

As the West was settled, he said, populist groups such as miners, the Grange and labor sought to limit the power of government institutions and political parties.

Washington adopted its initiative law in 1912, and two years later voters faced a slate of seven initiatives — still a record.