--Joe Matthews at Fox and Hounds argues that although the two Constitutional convention initiatives failed to fully get off the ground and make it to the ballot, they won’t be dead for long and voters should expect to hear more about such ideas in the future. He calls it s “successful failure” because “In the 30 years between statehood and the state’s last constitutional convention, in 1878 and 1879, there were three major efforts to call a convention, each of which failed.” He also argues that since the state’s problems aren’t going to go away any time soon, clamoring for a convention or other major reforms may lead others to abide by the proposals of convention advocates. A recap of the canned proposals is here.

--The LA Times reports on the drive to substitute electronic signatures in for regular pen and paper as a way to gather signatures during the initiative process: “Electronic signatures could disrupt this economy by making signatures, and therefore access to ballots, much, much cheaper.” The legality of electronic signatures will soon be debated, as “Critics will argue that an electronic signature is not as secure or trustworthy as ink on paper. Verafirma will counter that its software application mimics the act of signing -- users write on a touch screen just as they would on paper -- and that by capturing data on each stroke, the technology is more easily verifiable than a pen-and-paper signature.” Read more here.

--Steve Lopez for the LA Times interviews Mercury Insurance Chairman George Joseph, who is bankrolling Proposition 17. Get a view of the initiative’s aim from the top here.