What were some of the tactics that progressives used to make state governments more responsive to voters' wishes?
At the level of state government, progressives sought to give citizens a more direct role in making political decisions. In many states, progressives introduced the direct primary, which allowed voters to choose Democratic and Republican nominees for office, rather than allow party officials to determine their party's candidates. Direct primaries were adopted in every state by 1917. Progressives in many states also introduced three important measures to give citizens a greater voice in government: initiative, referendum, and recall. Initiative allowed voters to propose new laws, which could be approved or voted down at the polls. Referendum allowed voters to vote down laws passed by their state legislature. Recall enabled voters to vote unpopular or corrupt officials out of office.