Referendum
Overview
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

, a constitutional amendment
Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...

, a law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

, the recall
Recall election
A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before his or her term has ended...

 of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of direct democracy
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...

. The word plebiscite comes from the Latin plebiscita, which originally meant a decree of the Concilium Plebis
Plebeian Council
The Concilium Plebis — known in English as the Plebeian Council or People's Assembly — was the principal popular assembly of the ancient Roman Republic. It functioned as a legislative assembly, through which the plebeians could pass laws, elect magistrates, and try judicial cases. The Plebeian...

, the popular assembly of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

.
Timeline

1860    Parma, Tuscany, Modena and Romagna vote in referendums to join the Kingdom of Sardinia.

1905    Norway holds a referendum in favor of monarchy over republic.

1920    King Constantine I is restored as King of the Hellenes after the death of his son Alexander I of Greece and a plebiscite.

1936    In Germany, Adolf Hitler receives 99% of the votes in a referendum to ratify Germany's illegal reoccupation of the Rhineland, receiving 44.5 million votes out of 45.5 million registered voters.

1946    Birth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After the referendum the king of Italy Umberto II di Savoia is exiled.

1961    In France a referendum supports Charles de Gaulle's policies in Algeria.

1962    Newly independent Algeria, by referendum, adopts a Constitution.

1975    India annexes Sikkim after the mountain state holds a referendum in which the popular vote is in favour of merging with India.

1976    The 1976 Constitution of Cuba is adopted by the national referendum.

1980    Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum.

 
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