Why referendum government demands voters' time

Would legislation by referendum be an ideal system if voters were educated and engaged?

There is disagreement: one participant calls it ideal, while the objection is that routine votes would demand unpaid study that many voters cannot undertake.

One panelist describes legislation by referendum as an ideal that requires an educated, engaged electorate. Clarke challenges that ideal because people with jobs, families and other commitments cannot continually study unfamiliar technical questions. He supports referendums for major constitutional decisions, while warning that routine use would leave voters dependent on information supplied by actors trying to influence the result. His objection concerns the unpaid research burden placed on voters, without assuming that people without specialist knowledge lack intelligence.