The purpose of this study is to test referendums' revitalizing effect on the local democracy. To test this hypothesis, the study compares eight municipalities. Four of these have had a referendum and four have not. The study uses two different timelines to see if the reform about initiative from the citizens have had an impact on the participation of the local democracy. With this approach, the selection of the municipalities will be evenly distributed before and after 2011. The study uses Robert D. Putnam theory about citizens and its participation and therefore how to measure it (2018) and Robert A. Dahl and his theory about society's size and what it means to the local democracy (1989). The study uses five different indicators to test the hypothesis and to answer the questions that the study puts forward to categories the indicators. The method is Most Similar System Design (MSSD) and its purpose explains how similar units differ in some aspects. The result shows that those who have used a referendum have a better density with associations but have no different result when it comes to the political voting in the elections to the municipal council.