Ballot Measures

2008: Ten for Ten Statewide Measures in Oregon
In 2008, Grove Insight was part of the Defend Oregon team that won a landslide victory on statewide measures. We helped defeat odious measures, all supported largely by out-of-state special interests and many of which were qualified to the ballot by perennial initiative system-abuser Bill Sizemore, that would have eviscerated Oregon’s education system; created more one-size-fits-all sentencing without addressing the root causes of crime; gutted essential public services (including healthcare); put first responders in harm’s way; undercut public servants’ ability to make voluntary contributions to their union or to charities; and reduced the political power of minor parties. We are also proud to have helped return fairness to local bond and levy elections by overturning Oregon's statewide "double majority" law (and to have helped defend Arizona from the same dumb idea!).

Defeating Issue Two in Ohio
Referred to as “the most meaningful contest of 2011,” this campaign involved numerous quantitative telephone surveys and qualitative Internet ad tests in Ohio on behalf of the We Are Ohio campaign. Our message research was instrumental in helping to frame daily media communications and outreach efforts to targeted subgroups key to electoral success. We also conducted GOTV research on behalf of the campaign, helping to identify, motivate and turn out voters who were likely with us, but had poor turnout histories.

Defeating the Insurance Industry in California
In early 2010, Grove Insight was hired by California Consumer Watchdog to conduct the research and develop the message strategy necessary to defeat California insurance behemoth Mercury Insurance’s Proposition 17. If successful, Mercury’s proposition would have reversed nearly two decades of consumer protections, deregulating the car insurance industry in California and allowing insurance companies to unfairly penalize responsible motorists.  Despite being outspent by over 13-to-one, we defeated the measure with one 15-second ad that posed a simple but provocative question:  “When was the last time the big insurance companies spent millions to save you money?”  This outside the box winning message strategy turned the tables on this industry giant, defeating their initiative handily in the June primary election. 

Passing Taxes in Oregon and Determining the Interplay of a Corporate and Income Tax Measure at the Ballot
With the successful passage of Measures 66 and 67 in January, 2010, Grove Insight accomplished what has rarely been done anywhere else in the country since: pass two statewide ballot measures that raise income and corporate taxes in an economic recession.  As the lead pollster and strategist for the state’s labor roundtable funded Defend Oregon campaign, Grove Insight weighed in on every step of the process, crafting the ballot language, developing the long-term research plan and, in doing so, creating the winning message strategy that led to the first passage of a tax increase in Oregon (other than through property taxes) in decades.  Needless to say, our campaign is now serving as a blueprint for other coalitions across the country working to replicate our success.

Defeating Parental Notification in Oregon
In 2006, Grove Insight worked with the ProChoice Coalition of Oregon to persuade voters to reject Right to Life’s Measure 43. This law, if passed, would have prevented young women from receiving safe medical care, by mandating parental notification by certified letter for any older teen considering an abortion. As a result of our research and strategic advice, the ProChoice Coalition of Oregon defeated this measure by a margin of 10 points – a win that had been widely billed as impossible mere months before.

Smoke-Free Workplace in Washington State
While Grove Insight has experience working to pass smoke-free workplace laws across the country, we are most proud of our work to pass Washington’s Initiative 901 in 2005. Grove Insight provided research, consulting, and strategic services to the Healthy Indoor Air Initiative Campaign to pass this measure, which is one of the most restrictive indoor smoking bans in the nation. In the end, our rallying cry that I-901 protects everyone’s right to breathe clean air not only carried this effort across the finish line, it became the dominant core message for similar efforts across the nation.

Our Clients Include…
No on Measure 59, Oregon 1998
Yes on Measure 60, Oregon 1998
Yes on Measure 63, Oregon 1998
No on Measure 65, Oregon 1998
Yes on Measure H in Hayward, CA, 1998
Yes on Measure 62, Oregon 1998
No on Measure 4, Oregon 2000
Yes on Measure 5, Oregon 2000
No on Measure 81, Oregon 2000
No on Measure 89, Oregon 2000
No on Measure 92, Oregon 2000
No on Measure 98, Oregon 2000
No on Measure 18, Oregon 2002
No on Measure 21, Oregon 2002
No on Measure 22, Oregon 2002
Yes on Measure 25, Oregon 2002
Yes on Measure 26, Oregon 2002
Yes on Measure 28, Oregon 2003
Yes on Measure 30, Oregon 2004
Yes on Measure 34, Oregon 2004
No on Measure 35, Oregon 2004
No on Measure 36, Oregon 2004
No on Proposition 64, California 2004
No on Constitutional Amendment D, Wyoming 2004
Yes on Initiative 901, Washington 2005
No on Measure 40, Oregon 2006
No on Measure 41, Oregon 2006
No on Measure 43, Oregon 2006
Yes on Measure 44, Oregon 2006
No on Measure 45, Oregon 2006
No on Amended 46, Oregon 2006
No on Measure 47, Oregon 2006
No on Measure 48, Oregon 2006
Yes on Measure 26-86, Oregon 2006
Proposition 1, Idaho 2006
Yes on Measure 50, Oregon 2007
Yes on Measure 56, Oregon 2008
Yes on Measure 57, Oregon 2008
No on Measure 58, Oregon 2008
No on Measure 59, Oregon 2008
No on Measure 60, Oregon 2008
No on Measure 61, Oregon 2008
No on Measure 62, Oregon 2008
No on Measure 63, Oregon 2008
No on Measure 64, Oregon 2008
No on Measure 65, Oregon 2008
No on Amendment 105, Arizona 2008
Yes on Measures 66 and 67, Oregon 2010
No on Issue 2, Ohio 2011