ETYM French plébiscite, from Latin plebiscitum.
A vote by the electorate determining public opinion on a question of national importance.
Referendum or direct vote by all the electors of a country or district on a specific question. Since the 18th century plebiscites have been employed on many occasions to decide to what country a particular area should belong; for example, in Upper Silesia and elsewhere after World War I, and in the Saar 1935.
The term fell into disuse during the 1930s, after the widespread abuse by the Nazis in Germany to legitimize their regime. + prikaži više

ETYM Gerundive from Latin referre. Related to Refer.
(Irregular plural: referendums, or: referenda).
A legislative act is referred for final approval to a popular vote by the electorate.
Procedure whereby a decision on proposed legislation is referred to the electorate for settlement by direct vote of all the people. It is most frequently employed in Switzerland, the first country to use it, but has become increasingly widespread.
Critics argue that referendums undermine parliamentary authority, but they do allow the elector to participate directly in decision-making. They may have a value in removing autocratic regimes, for example the referendums in Chile 1978, 1980, and 1988, the last of which was followed by the fall of Pinochet. Similar devices are the recall, whereby voters are given the opportunity of demanding the dismissal from office of officials, and the initiative.
In 1992 several European countries (Ireland, Denmark, France) held referendums on whether to ratify the Maastricht Treaty on closer European economic and political union. + prikaži više