I recommend this article in The Nature Conservancy Magazine about the successful ballot initiative in Minnesota in 2008 to constitutionally dedicate a sales tax increase protecting Minnesota's natural resources and funding the arts. The article paints a great picture of what it takes for advocacy organizations to organize a successful electoral campaign around an issue on the ballot rather than a candidate or political party.
The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment campaign is a story about a large coalition of issue advocacy organizations crafting and running a strategically and tactically smart campaign. The Amendment won in Minnesota with more support than Obama did (a tax increase nonetheless!), despite the huge hurdle that if a voter skips a ballot amendment question-for instance they just vote for Obama and leave the rest of the ballot blank-it counts as a "No" vote.
A must-read case study on electoral strategy for issue advocates.
Read the article here: http://www.nature.org/magazine/autumn2009/features/voteyes_multi1.html
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