How does the raise of polarized politics affect the mechanisms for direct democracy in the American states? And to what extent have mechanisms such as initiatives and referenda contributed to polarizing these political scenarios? In this paper I hypothesize that both have played an important role in this regard, though in opposing directions. Using data from the Statewide Ballot Measures Database, State Election Day Exit Polls and the American Legislatures Project I explore the pertinence of understanding the extent to which existing political conflicts in the states may not only be reflective of the national political conflict, but an important contributor to the latter.