The most important issues that relate to the state or public life of a particular country may be submitted to a referendum. So called one of the methods of direct expression of the will of citizens, which is carried out in the form of voting. True, the authorities do not always listen to the desire expressed by the people: the most striking example in Russian history is the referendum that was held in 1991. On it, 76% of the population voted for the Soviet Union to be preserved, but, despite this, it collapsed. But this is also provided for by law - it can be carried out simply in order to find out the position of citizens on a particular issue.
Of course, many people don’t even know what a referendum is, because this way of finding out the opinion of the people is extremely rare. This is due primarily to the high cost of its implementation. For such a vote, it is necessary to raise questions that are important for the country, and its future fate and development path will depend on the choice of people.
Depending on the nature of the questions raised, the referendum may be constitutional (in this case, the possibility of amending the Constitution or adopting its other version is considered) and legislative (the reason for the vote is the bill). At the same time, the wording of the problem should be clear, the question and the answers provided cannot be twofold. The Constitutional Court or citizens of the Russian Federation, who know what a referendum is and have the right to participate in it, have the right to take the initiative so that a popular vote is held. In the latter case, at least 2 million people should take the initiative, which will be confirmed by the signatures of each person.
The procedure for organizing the voting is described in legislative acts. So, the procedure for holding a referendum provides that in case of initiative to organize the will of the people, documents are submitted to the CEC, analyzed there for 15 days, and then transferred to the President, who decides on the vote.
Voting ballots shall indicate the question posed and 2 possible answers: “For” or “Against”. In addition, the rules for filling out are written on it, so even those who did not know what a referendum should have problems. If there are several questions in the newsletter, they are separated by horizontal lines. Voting shall be deemed valid if more than ½ citizens were able to take part in it, and the decision shall be considered adopted if more than 2/3 of the voters vote for it.
The legislation, which describes what a referendum is, provides that this method of expression of will may be national or local, that is, carried out on the territory of the whole country or in a single municipal district. In the latter case, only residents of the region in which it is held can participate in it. So, issues related to the adoption of the charter of the okrug, the structure of self-government bodies, changes in the boundaries of the territory, issues of early termination of powers of the local head of self-government or representative body can be submitted to local voting. Well, if residents are familiar with the concept of "local referendum": an essay, for example, was written at the school on this topic, and they do not need to explain what importance it is and why it is necessary to participate in it.
