People are voting at the local level, and interest in national level politics is declining. Perhaps this was an attractive option to you because we so often hear that we ought to have more participation in national elec tions. The trend toward participatory democracy does mean a shift from the national to the local level. The shift does not involve greater power for state representatives or any other group of politicians. The citizens, rather than the politicians at any level, are making the decisions.
Participatory democracy refers to political involvement at the local level.
In other words, voters are not voting for other people to represent them. The initiatives and referenda deal with issues.