Attack on People's Petition Rights Part II
The Taxpayer Association, Bill Sizemore, and the signature gathering entrepreneur company, Democracy Direct, defended the people’s initiative process during the House Election, Ethics and Rules Committee on Jan. 31st. Opponents of the people’s initiative process listed out their laundry list of horrible ideas to make petitioning more difficult.(1) One year time limit for gathering signatures (A 50% cut)
(2) Raise signature requirement threshold by 20%
(3) Raise number of sponsors to qualify petition to start
(4) Require all ballot measure election complaints (frivolous or not) to be listed in the state voters’ pamphlet (yet not list any election complaints aimed at measure opponents)
(5) Require official legislative blessings for all voter approved measures before they become law
(6) Make chief petitioners liable for what any signature gatherer may do while collecting signatures.
The Taxpayer Association testified that already thousands of legitimate voter signatures are cancelled every year due to legal technicalities. It was disturbing on how the anti-initiative lobby wanted to combat fraud by enacting new laws to club chief petitioners, while the pro-initiative lobby wanted to combat fraud by targeting laws to those who actually commit it fraud.
The new Legislative Majority choosing to start Session by taking away the people’s petition voice is a blow to their populism appeal and a signal that it is business as usual -- if not worse -- at the State Capitol.
(5) Require official legislative blessings for all voter approved measures before they become law
(6) Make chief petitioners liable for what any signature gatherer may do while collecting signatures.
The Taxpayer Association testified that already thousands of legitimate voter signatures are cancelled every year due to legal technicalities. It was disturbing on how the anti-initiative lobby wanted to combat fraud by enacting new laws to club chief petitioners, while the pro-initiative lobby wanted to combat fraud by targeting laws to those who actually commit it fraud.
The new Legislative Majority choosing to start Session by taking away the people’s petition voice is a blow to their populism appeal and a signal that it is business as usual -- if not worse -- at the State Capitol.
I am deeply troubled by this and only hope that someone wakes up before it is too late. Sadly, Oregon's lead in representative government is being eroded each and every day by the "politicians" in Salem.
I am sick and disgusted with all of them.
just because one disagrees with the vast majority in the state and thier proposed and actualized legislation doesn't mean we should make our system such that any joe schmoe can get thier crazy concocted ideas on the ballot.
You have obviously never tried to get anything on the ballot. Because saying it is "way to easy" to get something on the ballot is about an uninformed statement as one can make.
With the current regulations in place it takes about a half million dollars to get something on the ballot.
Call that easy?
Please.
You have obviously never tried to get anything on the ballot. Because saying it is "way to easy" to get something on the ballot is about an uninformed statement as one can make.
Tell, me, how do you know this? how uninformed of a statement is that since you have no information on which to base that?
money is easy to come by for political purposes. look at that mike rich guy. if everyone who supported a measure gave 10 bucks, it would only require 5000 people who supported it to donate. and interest groups PACs all give money to causes they support. so that's not an issue.
and my identity... Captain Anon is just fine, thanks. you don't need to know who i am. I could tell you i spearheaded a campagin to get a measure on the ballot. but then because you disagree with my viewpoints, you'd probably just say i was lying. so it doesn't really matter.
There are no checks and balances that work anymore. The politicians in this state are all equally ineffective. The only remaining check and balance is the initiative/referendum process. To change it is to hurt the people of Oregon. There is no argument that makes any sense to cripple our initiative process. NONE.
People who say there is are simply lazy. I don't care if there are 50 ballot measure on the ballot.
Wake up you fools.