Was it Confidence or Money that Prompted Gov. Brown to Stop Signature Drive?

◼ Most initiatives need professional signature gatherers to help get the necessary signatures to qualify a ballot measure. The governor’s compromise initiative is already spending three dollars a signature, well above other current initiative efforts. - Joel Fox/Fox&Hounds

Because of the tight deadline for acquiring over a million signatures in about five or six weeks the cost will probably go up as the petition drive nears its deadline.

The governor also has recently used direct mail to promote his measure. The accuracy rate for valid signatures is better with direct mail than collecting signatures at the mall. That’s because signatures gathered on the street present a greater likelihood of problems such as individuals not registered as voters signing. However, direct mail is more expensive.

Rushing to get signatures means that the validity rate might be lower than anticipated. Joe Mathews reported on this site last week that petition circulators are facing penalties for bringing in too many false signatures. As Mathews wrote, “Petition circulators told me that they are being threatened with penalties – 50 cents each deducted from what they’re paid – for even the smallest problems with signatures.”

This means Brown needs more money to fund his qualifying effort.