Elections

Though the supporters of Proposition 30 (Prop 30), the California ballot initiative to raise income tax rates on high earners as well as sales taxes across the board, put together a highly successful campaign, some wonder whether the techniques used to sell Prop 30 carry with them the risk of undermining future efforts to bolster government services.

Remapping Debate investigates how advocates for California’s tax-increasing ballot initiative made their case and what lessons the campaign holds for others who seek to bolster government services.

According to the Census Bureau, even during presidential election years, at least a quarter of the eligible electorate has been unregistered in the period from 1980 through 2008. But current voter registration efforts don’t come close to meeting the need, especially because so much of registration under the U.S. system is highly labor-intensive.