The first thing you need to know is whether this strategy is even available to you. The Initiative & Referendum Institute, www.iandrinstitute.org, is a good starting place to find out what initiative processes exist in your state. You can also contact your local city clerk’s office, local department of ethics, elections commission, or similar agency for information. Before you call, check to see whether the agency has a website with the information online; many do.
Consider putting an initiative on the ballot only if you have significant public support for your issue, usually confirmed through polling. Initiatives are not about shifting voters to your side; they are about holding on to voters who are already on your side. Do not assume that you can win just because you can get enough signatures or votes of elected officials to get on the ballot. You want to begin with at least 65 percent to 70 percent of likely voters behind you to have a chance of having 51 percent by Election Day. Once your the opposition campaign kicks in, you will inevitably lose some support.
Can you get on the ballot? back to top
There are different ways to get on the ballot, and the rules vary from place to place. Generally, an initiative can be placed on the ballot by an elected body, such as the legislature or city council, or by gathering enough signatures of registered voters. First, find out how many elected officials you need to get your initiative on the ballot. Then set up individual meetings to find out how many of them will be with you and how many against if the initiative were to come up for a vote. If you can’t get enough legislators to support you, find out how many signatures you will need to get your measure on the ballot. This will generally be a percentage—somewhere between 5 percent and 10 percent—of registered voters in the state or locality in which you’re trying to qualify the initiative. The number may also depend on whether you are trying to enact a new law or amend your city charter or state constitution. You should also assume you will need to collect an additional 30 to 40 percentage points above the minimum number of signatures required. Invariably many signatures get disqualified because they are duplicates, have the wrong address, or are of persons not registered to vote. Depending on where you are and what you are trying to accomplish, you may need a few hundred, a few thousand, or more than a million signatures to qualify for the ballot.
If you decide to gather signatures, consider purchasing a computerized version of the official voter list from your registrar of voters. As you collect signatures, you can compare them against the official list and eliminate ones that are not legally valid. You should also eliminate duplicates. This should substantially reduce the number of signatures that are disqualified by election officials.
The cost of running an initiative campaign will vary widely from place to place. Mostly it depends on the amount of ground you have to cover. Local initiatives usually cost less than statewide initiatives since the universe of voters you need to reach and persuade is much smaller.
Initiatives have been won—and lost—with just a few thousand dollars; others have cost millions. You do not necessarily have to match your opponents dollar for dollar. Advocates have won important initiative battles even when they were heavily outspent by the opposition. You do need enough money to get your message out, however.
Some questions to consider
in estimating your costs
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Can your organization put aside its other work to lead a campaign? If not, do you have enough staff to take this on and keep the other work going? What is your fundraising base and can you realistically raise enough funds for an initiative campaign? Do you have anyone on staff who has ever worked on an initiative before? Do you know anyone else who has who is willing to help in this effort? Can you recruit, train, and supervise the volunteers you will need? Can you pull together a broad range of allies? How strong is your opposition likely to be? Can you counter it? More on this below in Putting Together a Winning Campaign.
You don’t need a lawyer to run an initiative campaign, but having one can help. In the middle of the campaign, you may need to bring or defend a legal challenge, such as a claim that the initiative title or ballot statement is misleading. If the initiative passes, opponents may go to court to try to block its implementation. Having a lawyer involved at the outset may ensure that you draft the initiative and other materials so that they meet legal requirements and can defend it if there are legal challenges. Indeed, simply making it known that you have legal counsel will deter opponents from filing frivolous suits to derail your efforts.
Most initiative campaigns begin at least a year ahead of time. There’s a lot to do and plan for: deadlines for drafting and submitting initiative language and ballot pamphlet statements; gathering signatures; challenging your opponents’ or defending your own ballot statements. Campaign building, such as bringing together and communicating with a broad-based coalition; preparing campaign materials; developing and implementing a media strategy; securing endorsements; recruiting volunteers; raising money and, most important, making contact with voters. And all of this before Election Day.
In rare situations it can be done in less time. A widely publicized event, a swell of public opinion in your favor, and intense media spotlight on your issue can open a brief window of opportunity to pass an important initiative. Even then, you will still want some lead time to pull it all together. The best strategy may be to be ready for an initiative: lay the foundation, know what you would push for, whom you will work with, and have a plan then seize the opportunity when all the pieces can come together.
You can never be 100 percent sure that you have picked the right election for your initiative. But you should evaluate the political context and try to predict as best you can; timing is important. Do you know what else will be on the ballot? Something favorable or detrimental to your issue? Will it have lots of resources behind it that you may benefit from or be hindered by? Will it divert your allies from being able to support your effort? Who is likely to go to the polls? Is it a primary or a general election? An off year or a special election?
Despite your best efforts, know that it can all change by Election Day. That’s another reason why it is so important to begin with significant public support. Public opinion and the political winds can dramatically shift in the year or so it can take you to conceive, launch, and wage an initiative campaign.
Before saying yes or no to an initiative campaign, weigh the pros and cons carefully. Consider what will it take and your prospects of winning. Many initiatives fail to qualify for the ballot because they fall short of the required number of legally valid signatures. Of those that do qualify, less than half win.
Winning an initiative campaign can bring significant, long-sought-after change that you cannot otherwise get. Winning at the ballot box can also significantly enhance the political clout of the organizations that led the successful effort. On the other hand, initiatives can take a lot of time, energy, and resources and put other advocacy efforts on hold. While winning can show strength, a loss may be viewed as a vote of no confidence that may make it more difficult to seek reforms in the future, through the ballot or otherwise.
Nonprofits can engage in initiative activities, but the IRS rules for nonprofit lobbying (see the Lobbying and Legislation section) still apply. Because an initiative is considered direct lobbying, note that the higher direct lobbying limits are applicable. For an overview of what you may and may not do in an initiative campaign, order a copy of Seize the Initiative from the Alliance for Justice at http://www.allianceforjustice.org/research_publications/publications/index.html or call (202) 822-6070. Some state and local lobbying laws also require reporting and accounting for time and expenses.
This chapter outlines the basics. Given the level of commitment you will need to make if you undertake an initiative, you should take some time to learn more about the process and pitfalls. For a more detailed how to manual, order a copy of The Initiative Cookbook: Recipes & Stories from California’s Ballot Wars by Jim Shultz at http://www.democracyctr.org/resources/cookbook.html. You should also take a look at the Initiative & Referendum Institute website at http://www.iandrinstitute.org/ and The Initiative Process in America: An Overview of How it Works Around the Country, testimony by the president of the Initiative and Referendum Institute before the California State Legislature, at http://www.cainitiative.org/pdf/initiative_process_iri.pdf.