The State Constitutional

Convention Clearinghouse

U.S. states where the people can use a periodic state constitutional convention referendum
to bypass the legislature's gatekeeping power over constitutional amendment

Constitutonal Convention and Citizens’ Assembly News

(publications not otherwise included on the state-specific clearinghouse websites)

Directions: To search for a certain type of post, enter what you’re searching for in the filter fields above the database table.  For example, to search for constitutional convention news in Chile, enter “Chile” in the Location filter field. To filter by multiple criteria, enter information in multiple fields. For example, to search for constitutional convention news in Chile during 2021, enter a date range in the Date field from 1/1/21 to 21/31/21, and Chile in the location field. To search across all fields at once, enter a  word or phrase in the field marked “search.” 

wdt_ID Topic Scope Location Date Article Link Publication Note
1 ConCon Country Chile 12/24/2021 This Is a Do-or-Die Moment for Chile’s Incoming President New York Times
2 Jury/CA N.A. N.A. 01/22/2022 Can randomly selected citizens govern better than elected officials? VOX
3 Jury/CA Sub-Country Scotland 11/30/2021 Are citizens’ assemblies in Scotland “here to stay”? The Scottish Parliament
4 Jury/CA Sub-Country Canada, Prince Edward Island 11/15/2021 Citizens’ assembly welcome initiative Saltwire
5 Jury/CA Sub-Country Canada, Prince Edward Island 11/19/2021 Citizens' assembly to explore electoral reform on P.E.I. could be created in new year, premier says CBC News
6 Jury/CA Sub-Country Canada, Prince Edward Island 11/23/2021 P.E.I. — You may be called to serve. Are you ready? Saltwire
7 Jury/CA Sub-Country Scotland 11/23/2021 More citizens assemblies promised by Scottish Government The Herald
8 Jury/CA N.A. N.A. 11/24/2021 How Citizens' Councils with Direct Democracy can help Climate Policy get on its Feet Global Democracy News
9 ConCon Country Chile 10/19/2021 Chile begins drafting new constitution on 2nd anniversary of social uprising La Prensa
10 Jury/CA Supra-Country Global 10/26/2021 Global Citizens’ Assemblies: A Bold Idea That Needs Our Support! Forbes
11 Jury/CA Sub-Country Scotland 11/30/2021 Are citizens’ assemblies in Scotland “here to stay”? The Scottish Parliament
12 Jury/CA Sub-Country Scotland 11/23/2021 More citizens assemblies promised by Scottish Government The Herald
13 Jury/CA Sub-Country Canada, Prince Edward Island 10/30/2021 P.E.I. Legislature approves citizens' assembly to design electoral reform system CBC
14 Jury/CA Country Canada 09/27/2021 SOUND OFF: Let citizens’ assembly make the final decision on proportional representation CFJC Today
15 Jury/CA Country Germany 09/22/2021 Elections Alone Are Not Enough: Could Citizens’ Assemblies Save Democracy in Germany? Open Society Foundations
16 Jury/CA Country UK 09/17/2021 Launching the Citizens’ Assembly on Democracy in the UK The Constitution Unit Blog
17 Jury/CA Sub-Country UK, Newham 09/20/2021 Can giving power to the people rebuild trust in politics? The Big Issue

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18 Jury/CA Sub-Country Canada, British Columbia 09/10/2021 Who’s Still Promising Electoral Reform? Fair Voting BC Takes a Look The Tyee
19 Jury/CA N.A. N.A. 09/29/2021 Watch the Athens Democracy Forum 2021 below Athens Democracy Forum
20 Jury/CA Country Malaysia 08/17/2021 A better Malaysia Assembly, not just a new PM, please The Edge Marekts
21 Jury/CA Sub-Country UK, Newham 07/12/2021 Newham Council launches country's first permanent Citizens’ Assembly Public Sector Executive

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22 Jury/CA N.A. N.A. 07/08/2021 CAN CITIZENS' ASSEMBLIES RESET DEMOCRACY? OZY

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23 Jury/CA Country UK, Newham 03/19/2021 Newham “radically overhauls democracy” with UK’s first Citizens’ Assembly Time 107.5 FM

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24 Jury/CA Sub-Country Scotland 06/14/2021 Permanent citizens' assembly needed to 'embed real people power in Scottish politics' The Scotsman
25 ConCon Country Chile 05/06/2021 Chile’s Constitutional Rewrite: A Difficult Path Ahead, but a Recipe for Inclusion Council of Foreign Relations
26 Jury/CA Sub-Country UK, Wales 05/09/2021 Drakeford demands more powers for Cardiff parliament Financial Times
27 Jury/CA Supra-Country European Union 04/01/2021 Guidelines for EU Citizens’ Assemblies Citizens Take Over

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28 Jury/CA Sub-Country UK, Scotland 01/13/2021 The Report of the Citizens' Assembly of Scotland Citizens' Assembly of Scotland
29 ConCon Country Chile 02/02/2022 Chile Constitutional Convention: Citizens vote on proposed initiatives Al Jazeera
30 ConCon Country Chile 01/31/2022 Neoliberalism was born in Chile. Now it will die there openDemocracy
31 ConCon Country Chile 02/01/2022 Chile Constitutional convention votes to nationalise mining Mining Journal
32 Jury/CA Sub-Country Ireland, Dublin 02/07/2022 Citizens’ assembly set to examine possibility of directly elected mayor for Dublin The Irish Times
33 Jury/CA Sub-Country Canada, Prince Edward Island 02/11/2022 Citizens assembly is ground-breaking step forward for P.E.I. democracy Saltwire
34 Jury/CA Country Ireland 11/16/2021 We may have overdone it on citizens’ assemblies Irish Times
35 ConCon Country Chile 02/18/2022 Chile’s Constitutional Convention Advances to the Plenary Havana Times
36 ConCon Country Chile 02/16/2022 Chile's Constitutional Convention To Run First Plenary Session teleSUR
37 ConCon Country Chile 02/15/2022 Constitutional assembly members start debate of new Constitution in Santiago Denver Gazette
38 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 02/19/2022 Program honoring 50th Anniversary of 1972 Constitutional Convention to be held Wednesday Great Falls Tribune

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39 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 02/18/2022
Celebration of 50th Anniversary of Montana's Constitution announced		 Havre Daily News

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40 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 02/21/2022 Sidney to host one of nine 50th anniversary celebrations for the Montana constittion Sidney Herald

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41 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 02/24/2022 Delegates to Montana Constitutional Convention participate in 50th Anniversary celebration Great Falls Tribune [I]t was determined that no current elected officials in the state could participate in the convention.... the event will be posted in full at greatfallsrisingmt.org.
42 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 02/22/2022 50 years later, the ‘Con-Con’ still a model for today Daily Montanan
43 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 02/24/2022 Remembering Montana's 1972 Constitutional Convention KRTV
44 ConCon Country Chile 02/26/2022 Chile’s overwhelmed constitution writers are facing a backlash Leader-Telegram
45 ConCon Country Chile 03/02/2022 The Dangerous Hubris of Chile’s Constitutional Convention Americas Quarterly
46 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 03/15/2022 MSU, Montana Free Press to mark constitutional convention's 50th anniversary with event next week Bozeman Daily Chronicle *The Montana Supreme Court decided in 1971 that legislators and other elected officials could not run to be a delegate. That opened the door to a slew of people who had never run for office before, including 19 women.
47 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 03/13/2022 Guest opinion: Montana’s 1972 Constitution celebration noted with columns Billings Gazette *Their new Constitution, often recognized as the best state Constitution in the nation...
48 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 03/10/2022 Commentary: Montana’s last, best document Daily Montanan Montana isn’t just the last best place, but it’s protected by the last, best Constitution.
49 ConCon Country Chile 03/09/2022 Chile Radicals Get a Warning to Tone Down Constitution Proposals Bloomberg Quint
50 Jury/CA N.A. Cambridge, Massachusetts 03/28/2022 Harvard Undergraduates Will Vote on a New Student Government Constitution This Week. Here’s What You Need to Know Harvard Crimson
51 Jury/CA N.A. Cambridge, Massachusetts 02/24/2022 Body Tasked with Rewriting Student Government Constitution Faces Questions Over Structure Harvard Crimson
52 Jury/CA Country Bosnia and Herzegovina 03/18/2022 BiH Citizens’ Assembly presents its recommendations on constitutional and electoral reform Sarajevo Times
53 Jury/CA Sub-Country Ohio 03/27/2022 Ohioans fed up with unaccountable lawmakers can approve citizens’ juries to vote on laws: Lucas M. Blower Cleveland.com
54 ConCon Country Montana 03/15/2022 50 Years: Montana’s 1972 Constitution remembered by delegates Missoula Current In 1972, Montanans began changing Montana from a state known at the time as a “corporate colony” of the powerful Anaconda Company into a state that vested much of its power in its people, thanks at least in part to the Constitution.
55 ConCon Country Chile 03/20/2022 Campaign against the Constitutional Convention denounced in Chile Prensa Latina
56 ConCon Country Chile 04/15/2022 Chile: The Constitutional Convention approved the abolition of the Senate and the creation of a new legislative chamber Pen Media
57 Jury/CA Country UK 10/22/2021 Implementing the Citizens’ Assembly on Democracy in the UK The Constitution Unit Blog
58 Jury/CA N.A. Cambridge, Massachusetts 03/29/2022 As a Member of the Citizens’ Assembly, the HUA Must Fail Harvard Crimson
59 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 03/25/2022 Panel: 1972 Montana Constitution ‘hard fought,’ ‘inspiring’ Missoula Current

The Montana Supreme Court said they couldn’t be sitting electeds, so they were mostly ordinary people and not politicians...
60 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 03/27/2022 Guest view: My accidental Constitutional Convention opportunity Montana Standard

Montana’s 1889 Constitution... contained a provision that prevented any elected official... from serving as delegates to future Conventions.
61 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 03/21/2022 Montanan’s 1972 Constitutional Convention retrospective interviews now archived at MSU Library Montana State University

Montana State University Library’s Archives and Special Collection has created a searchable online repository ... from the Montana ConCon of 1972.
62 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 03/23/2022 Montana politicians gather to remember the 1972 Constitutional Convention Montana Public Radio
63 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 04/06/2022 Bob Campbell’s constitutional legacy--
Campbell, who died in Missoula April 5, praised for his work on the 1972 Montana Constitution.		 Montana Free Press
64 ConCon Sub-Country North Dakota 04/15/2022 Omdahl: Voters unprepared to amend ND Constitution Inforum

defeat of a major rewrite of the state constitution by a vote of 107,643 to 64,073 in 1972
65 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 04/26/2022 Constitutional Convention Celebration Committee Havre Daily News
66 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 05/01/2022 Mary Sheehy Moe: 'Ordinary' Montanans created an extraordinary document Billings Gazette

Because current office-holders weren’t eligible to run, the delegates had little or no political experience. They viewed that as a good thing.
67 Jury/CA Supra-Country European Union 04/27/2022 A citizens’ Europe? Social Europe *A permanent European citizens’ assembly would be a step towards a fully-fledged European deliberative democracy. It should become a new EU institution and part of union law-making.
68 ConCon Country Chile 04/26/2022 Chile is writing a new chapter in its history Washington Post
69 Jury/CA Country UK 04/07/2022 British voters want lying politicians to face consequences – new study The Conversation
70 Jury/CA Sub-Country Alaska, Yukon 04/27/2022 Two Yukoners call for citizens’ assembly on electoral reform Yukon News two Yukoners from a self-described non-partisan citizen’s movement are asking legislators for a citizens’ assembly on electoral reform. The representatives from Fair Vote Yukon...
71 Jury/CA Supra-Country European Union 04/22/2022 Lessons from the Conference on the Future of Europe International Democracy Community
72 ConCon Country Chile 05/13/2022 Chile Constitution Writers Enter Final Stretch for Draft Charter Bloomberg
73 Jury/CA N.A. N.A. 05/12/2022 A Movement That’s Quietly Reshaping Democracy For The Better NOEMA *
74 Jury/CA N.A. N.A. 12/14/2021 Eight ways to institutionalise deliberative democracy OECD *
75 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 05/20/2022 Women emerged as ConCon delegates from changing times, 'rich, cultural stew' Independent Record *One reason that women were successful in getting on as delegates was that no one already elected to office could run.
76 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 05/27/2022 Former Montana lawmakers recall serving before and after constitution MontanaRightNow.com The 1972 document replaced the 1889 constitution drafted by the mining industry, when Copper King W.A. Clark had presided over the constitutional convention.
77 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 05/22/2022 Montana Historical Society events to celebrate 50th anniversary of state constitution MontanaRightNow.com May 26 program “Before and After the Montana Constitution of 1972”
78 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 05/06/2022 ‘Praise the Lord and pass the constitution’: Journalist Charles Johnson recalls historic 1972 convention MontanaRightNow.com *You can watch Johnson's presentation online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w5Nw19Y1mA
79 Jury/CA Supra-Country European Union 05/10/2022 Why many national governments oppose reform of the EU Irish Times *European Citizens’ Assembly concludes with proposals for major reform, which may go nowhere. The dossier included 49 proposals, ranging in scope from healthcare to childcare, to how elections should work.
80 ConCon Country Chile 05/07/2022 The Convention does not reflect what Chileans want Paris Beacon
81 ConCon Country Chile 05/22/2022 Chile Slides Toward Constitutional Suicide Wall Street Journal
82 ConCon Country Chile 05/29/2022 What’s at Stake as Chile Writes a New Constitution Washington Post
83 ConCon Country Chile 05/23/2022 How Chile’s Constitutional Overhaul Emboldened the Right Foreign Policy *
84 Jury/CA Sub-Country Ontario 05/31/2022 ‘You don’t expect turkeys to vote for Thanksgiving’: What would it take to enact electoral reform in Ontario? TVO Today
85 Jury/CA Sub-Country Colorado, Boulder 06/04/2022 Doug Hamilton: Community assemblies are a democratic way of better civic decision-making Daily Camera
86 ConCon Country Chile 05/30/2022 New Constitution and Participatory Democracy in Chile Havana Times
87 ConCon Country European Union 06/09/2022 EU paves way for Constitutional Convention as MEPs initiate process Malta Today
88 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 06/06/2022 Celebrations planned to mark the 50th anniversary of the ratification of the State Constitution Montana Public Radio The state Supreme Court ruled that constitutional delegates could not hold public office.
89 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 06/15/2022 Montana celebrates 50th anniversary of state constitution KTVH
90 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 06/15/2022 EDITOR'S PICK TOPICAL ALERT TOP STORY
Emotional celebration held for Montana Constitution's 50th anniversary		 Independent Record
91 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 06/19/2022 Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Montana’s constitution Daily Inter Lake One hundred citizens gathered together as Montanans, not partisans, to craft our foundational document, hailed by many across America as the nation’s best state Constitution.
92 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 06/17/2022 2 former Montana governors discuss constitution, shape of democracy MontanaRightNow.com
93 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 06/12/2022 Capitol celebration planned for 50th anniversary of Montana Constitution Independent Record *“It has stood the test of time”...Competition among citizens for delegate seats was strong, perhaps because the Montana Supreme Court had ruled that elected officials, like sitting legislators, could not be delegate candidates.
94 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 06/15/2022 Montana’s people-oriented constitution turns 50 and still serves us well Daily Montanan The Legislature was shrouded in secrecy. The press had been controlled by the Anaconda Copper Company until they sold all their newspapers to Lee Enterprises in 1959.
95 ConCon Sub-Country Montana 06/14/2022 50th anniversary of Montana's Constitution to be celebrated at state capitol NBC Montana
96 ConCon Supra-Country European Union 06/22/2022 Every One for a constitutional convention - now! evereyone-initiative.eu
97 ConCon Country Chile 06/20/2022 Chile Shows How Constitutional Reform Should Be Done—and Why It’s Insufficient World Politics Review *Chile’s process for constitutional reform should be a model for similar efforts across the hemisphere, as it’s far better than many of the alternatives that have come before.
98 ConCon Country Chile 07/04/2022 Chile delivers final constitution draft as skepticism runs high Leader-Telegram
99 ConCon Country Chile 07/05/2022 Chile writes a woke constitution. Are Chileans ready for it? Washington Post
100 ConCon Country Chile 07/04/2022 Chile Delivers Final Constitution Draft as Skepticism Runs High Bloomberg
Topic Scope Location Date Article Link Publication Note

 Past Compilations by J.H. Snider

Primarily for his own personal use in recent years, J.H. Snider has been compiling information on miscellaneous constitutional conventions and citizens’ assemblies since the early 2000s. For example, from 2016 to 2021 he maintained the LinkedIn Group, The Constitutional Convention and Citizens’ Assembly Clearinghouse.

This LinkedIn group replaced an earlier Facebook group,  Constitutional Convention and Citizens Assembly Based Democratic Reform Facebook Group (2012-2015) and previous Facebook group with the same title (2009-2012).  Both were mysteriously deleted by Facebook without any notice, subsequent explanation, or means of contacting Facebook, which led to the switchover to LinkedIn. Equally mysteriously, Facebook reposted and combined both Facebook groups years later–again, without any notice or explanation. Perhaps someone responded to Snider’s numerous emails to Facebook that never received a reply. However, all the members of the first and much larger Facebook group were lost, and Snider gave up on recreating that membership.

The Facebook 2009-2012 Facebook group replaced the Citizens Assembly News Digest, a newsletter sent via e-mail to scholars and practitioners.

The Citizens Assembly News Digest, in turn, replaced the Citizens Assembly Blog, which during 2006 and 2007 covered citizen assemblies on electoral reform in British Columbia, Canada; Ontario, Canada; and the Netherlands.

The Citizens Assembly Blog, in turn, replaced an email listserv covering a bipartisan California Senate prospective and then later formal bill for a California citizens assembly co-sponsored by two California state senators. When that bill was defeated, the focus switched to passing an innovative redistricting proposal based on a partially randomly selected redistricting commission, which voters passed via a constitutional initiative. The email listserv stopped when the bill in California’s Legislature was defeated.

Early versions of J.H. Snider’s thinking on related issues can be found at: Snider, J. H. (1994). “Democracy On-Line.” The Futurist 28: 15-19; Snider, J. H. (2006). “Solving a Classic Dilemma of Democratic Politics: Who Will Guard the Guardians?” National Civic Review(Winter); and  Snider, J. H. (2007). From Dahl to O’Leary: 36 Years of the “Yale School of Democratic Reform”. Journal of Deliberative Democracy, 3(1).