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November 17, 2008
Notes on running a referendum campaign
Having observed the Cincinnati electoral reform ballot initiative, I have been asking myself what would it take to run a successful referendum campaign (even just within a local council, but nationally as well) in the UK on changing the voting system. By no means exhaustive, but below is a list of questions I would want to pose and answer affirmatively at the outset to believe the campaign had a good chance of success.
1) What is the trigger, the reason for holding a referendum at this time?
2) In people’s minds, is there an easily explainable and good reason for having this debate?
3) What factors are there which could be used to encourage people to vote yes, and to vote for a change?
4) How do you organise the campaign and have an effective ground game, and get out the key messages? And how would you do that if there were other elections or ballot initiatives competing for media and voters' attentions and activists' time?
5) How do you best combat the spurious myths of PR without going into complexities and jargon?
6) How best can you prepare for, and be proactive against, the backlash of incumbents and vested interests?
7) How do you stay on the offensive as a ‘yes’ campaign; rather than being put on the defensive and always having to justify why something needs to change, rather than make your opponents focus on defending the status quo?
The key difference here compared with America is that we can't currently petition in the same way for a ballot to be held. There is little scope for local ballot initiatives; though there is precedent with votes on elected mayors and the governing arrangements of councils. The decision to hold a nationwide referendum is still solely in the gift of the government, or parties in discussions come a hung parliament. And the easiest route to victory would be with government / major party backing. But the questions I raise are still pertinent; and useful to consider for our general campaign activity.
Posted by malcolmclark on November 17, 2008
