Back in the Wind Tunnel

Chapter 8 reviews the 2012 Citizens’ Initiative Review (CIR), which faced a problem common to contemporary elections: the influence of money. That year, participants studied Measure 82, which would have legalized non-tribal casinos in Oregon. Well-funded casino lobbyists represented the advocates of the measure and tribal members, who themselves operated casinos, represented the opponents. The chapter shows how, despite efforts by proponents to utilize manipulative campaign tactics, participants took their task seriously and produced a nuanced and readable statement for voters. It goes on to explain the results of further studies showing that the CIR continued to maintain process integrity as it expanded to other locations. Findings indicate that the CIR does not appear to favor any one type of decision, with panelists as likely to largely agree as they are to reach a more evenly split decision and as likely to ultimately side with the electorate as not.