How to communicate with voters?

From the North American point of view, Michael B. Salerno of San Francisco and Cindy Hanson of Regina, Canada both pointed out the importance of considering how information is being given to citizens participating in referendums and initiatives. 

Salerno pointed out that information about a recent ballot initiative in California only reached voters about two weeks before the election and that the issues were explained in too-complex legal terms.

“The law is complicated, but the challenge of direct democracy is how it is structured,” he said. “It’s the genie in the bottle and before you uncork it you had better figure out the method you’re going to use [to communicate with voters].”

Hanson agreed that “using a language people don’t understand doesn’t help” and that it’s important to “think of the tools we’re using to solicit citizen engagement”. For example, she asked, how do you engage a largely illiterate population and make sure they’re properly informed and involved?