This is shaping up as the year to look at political systems, to see if they are working right. With all six Maine referendum items gone to defeat in this latest election, it is time for another look at our state’s referendum system.

The problem is not so much the referendum questions themselves, but how the process has changed in the last 15 years. Citizen petitions are no longer the pursuit solely of grass-roots organizations stymied by a legislature that refuses to act, especially on issues that most affect lawmakers. Now they are the instrument of professional groups that want to bring national attention to their cause and know that Maine is an inexpensive state with easy access to the ballot.

Take, first, the changes Gov. Angus King is thinking of proposing after the Legislature gets settled:

. Clarification of wording. Good. The present routine examination by the Secretary of State’s Office let one real howler slip through this time. Question 3, the video gambling measure, falsely guaranteed property tax relief and concealed the fact that it would benefit not an industry but a single business. Titles and body should be rewritten if necessary to make sure that they represent accurately the intent of the proponent and don’t confuse or mislead the voters.

. A ban on collecting signatures on Election Day. Also good. A voter has enough to do on Election Day to keep a clear head about what’s on the present ballot. At the very least, the collecting of signatures should come out of the voting places.

. Requiring signatures from every Maine county. Fair enough. This would make harder work for the petitioners, but it would get the whole state involved in something that would affect the whole state. Such a requirement would be meaningless, however, if a single signer from a county were sufficient.

. Possibly raising the threshold of total signatures needed. Maybe, maybe not. The present minimum of 10 percent of votes cast at the last election for governor amounts to about 42,000. This may be high enough to discourage frivolous proposals and keep Maine from going the way of Oregon, where voters faced 26 referendums this year.

It is not clear how far the governor would or could go in limiting out-of-state money, which paid for most of this year’s narrowly defeated proposal for physician-assisted suicide and last year’s successful medical marijuana initiative. But it is difficult enough for Maine to make its own laws without the influence of well-financed advertising campaigns.

Referendums are important but flawed instruments. They bypass normal legislative procedures avoiding public hearings, debate, and amendment. And voters are casting their ballots for a law that it summarized at the polling place, sometimes inaccurately, by only a brief “question.” They may have read the entire text at home, but it is not available when they vote.

For all their flaws, these citizen-initiated ballot proposals do serve as a democratic safety valve and should be here to stay. But they need a fix.