ballot measure planning

As anyone who’s worked on a ballot measure campaign will tell you, ballot measures tend to fly under voters’ radar. You typically need a strong ground game and a dedicated group of local volunteers to be successful. Most ballot measure campaigns also need an element of voter education and persuasion added to their programs. Without it, many voters won’t understand what the measure does and why it’s important. Ballot measures are often the very last thing on the ballot, so sometimes you simply need to remind voters to fill out the entire ballot or to flip the ballot over.

Qualifying a ballot measure is a significant undertaking. Sometimes the most difficult part of a ballot measure campaign is just making it to the ballot. From gathering signatures to overcoming legal hurdles, qualifying an initiative takes planning, time, and (very often) a sizable investment (both in terms of dollars and human capital).

In today’s political climate of partisanship and mistrust, constituents are turning to the ballot measure process to bypass traditional government controls to pass legislation. 

For groups and organizations that are interested in getting a measure on the ballot, signature gathering can be a costly, time-intensive, and pain-staking affair. You’ll need to raise the money to pay an expensive field consultant to manage the process for you. There’s a steady unease about hitting your numbers, and all of this is compounded with the stress of knowing that the success of your effort hangs in the balance.