Referendum

A special kind of one-off vote in which eligible voters are polled for their mostly binary opinions on a subject of political importance. Such voting vehicles are often used to give an incumbent government popular license to execute a terrible policy, taking advantage of the fact that the layman doesn't understand the full ramifications of the result. Where referendums appear to be democratic, the results of the vote can be clouded by the voting public's perspective on the subject, which may be tainted by personal gain.

Jelly & Ice Cream
The dangers of a referendum are shown up by one classic example. If a group of children were offered a referendum that allowed them to choose between a diet of jelly and ice cream, or a diet of fruit and vegetables, which do you think they would choose?