Oregon

Nevada Man Behind Big Oregon Initiative Donations

Joe Mathews — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 21:57:00 -0400

The Oregonian profiles Loren Parks, the Nevada millionaire who has given big to Oregon initiative campaigns.

Why You Should Update Your Voter Registration Signature

Joe Mathews — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:38:00 -0400

The Secretary of State of Oregon was no fan of an effort to qualify a referendum to reverse the state's domestic partnership law. And the number of valid signatures barely met the requirement. So he went through the signatures and disqualified some 200 signatures that were determined not to match the voter signatures on registration card.

Now the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Secretary of State's actions were lawful. It's a tough call. While signature fraud remains a threat in the petition circulation game, it's a good bet that many or even most of the disqualified signatures were valid. How's that? People's signatures often change over the years. And for that reason, here's some free advice. If you haven't changed your voter registration in the past 5 years, it's a good idea to go in and update it, with a fresh signature. I've observed the counting of absentee ballots in California, and election officials are often checking against voter registration signatures from 30 or 40 years ago. If signatures don't match, the votes don't get counted.

Teacher Pay Makes Ballot In Oregon

Joe Mathews — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:59:00 -0400

An initiative to link teacher pay to student performance in the classroom has qualified for the statewide ballot in Oregon.

Two New Measures Make Oregon Ballot

Joe Mathews — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:19:00 -0400

The "top two" open primary and a measure dedicating 15 percent of lottery revenues to public safety. Details are here.

Great American Turn-In, Part 3

Joe Mathews — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:38:00 -0400

While you were at the beach or barbecuing hot dogs, petition circulators were practicing democracy. The final sigs are pouring in. Four measures were filed at the last minute in Oregon: a measure to devote a percentage of lottery proceeds to crime fighting, a cap on attorney's fees, a measure to reduce the number of lawsuits, and the open primary "top two" measure.

In Arizona and Nebraska, Ward Connerly's local supporters have filed the signatures on their anti-affirmative action initiatives. The Nebraska initiative is the only measure that appears to have the signatures in that state. (Hat tip, Ballotpedia).

Friday Round Up: Challenges to South Dakota Abortion Initiative, Utah Land Use Ban

Joe Mathews — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:04:00 -0400

ANTI ABORTION BAN MAY BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL: South Dakota's attorney general suggests that if approved by voters, a November ballot initiative to ban abortion in almost all cases there could face a legal challenge. Such challenges are common, and often are successful. In California, nearly half of all inititiatves passed by voters since World War II have been invalidated at least in part by the courts. (Hat tip: ballotpedia).

DENVER COUNCIL DOESN'T WANT INITIATIVE REVIEW: In California and other initiative states, there is often talk of giving legislative bodies more of a role in reviewing initiatives before they go on the ballot. In Denver, however, the city council, which has such power, doesn't want the headache anymore. Perhaps this has something to do with the extraterrestial commission.

PROBLEMS FOR UTAH BAN ON LAND USE REFERENDA: Is Utah ban on land use referenda and initiatives constitutional? The state's attorney general thinks not.

ADDICTED TO INITIATIVES? An Oregon activist with a love of initiatives is found in contempt of court for using assets to pay for campaigns that a judge says should have gone to a fraud judgment.

IRISH DEBATE: Ireland is the only one of 27 EU countries permitting voters to decide whether to ratify the new Lisbon Treaty, which changes the rules the EU operates under. The vote is scheduled for June 12, and the debate -- over whether the treaty is good or bad for smaller states such as Ireland -- is getting heated.

Oregon Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Its Gay Marriage Ban

Joe Mathews — Sat, 24 May 2008 17:11:00 -0400

Here's the ruling. Oregon's court doesn't go along with California's and decides to leave in place a 2004 voter-approved prohibition against same sex marriage.

Oregon "Top Two" Primary Turns In Sigs

Joe Mathews — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:49:00 -0400

Sponsors of an Oregon initiative to establish a "top two" primary, the U.S. Supreme Court-friendly version of the non-partisan or "open" primary, began to turn in signatures Friday. In a top-two primary, all candidates appear (with party affiliations if their party is formally recognized by the state) on the primary ballot. The top two vote getters advance to the general election. (Ballot Access News, via ballotpedia).

Thursday Round Up: Oregon, Arizona and Colorado

Joe Mathews — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:19:00 -0400

OREGON GAMING MEASURE DROPPED: Backers of an initiative to establish Oregon's first non-tribal private casino say they've decided not to go forward. They could revive the proposals, but want to see how proposals for two tribal casinos fare first.

IMMIGRATION COPS: The Arizona legislator who wants to allow police officers to enforce immigration laws is pursuing dual tracks -- a ballot initiative and legislation at the same time. The initiative is back-up, he explains.

COLORADO GOV RAIN ON SPEAKER's INITIATIVE: Gov. Bill RItter, a Democrat, questions the political strategy behind an effort by the Democratic House speaker in his state to qualify a measure lifting some of the state's spending limits. Ritter has been trying to reduce the number of measures on the November ballot.

ONE CENT SALES TAX TO FUND TRANSPORTATION: Arizonans, including Gov. Janet Napolitano, have launched an initiative to pay for $42 billion in transporation spending with a one-cent sales tax. The full plan for how they would spend the money is due next month.

RIGHT TO WORK TAB: It cost more than $300,000 to qualify the "right-to-work" initiative in Colorado for the ballot, according to the Denver Post.

'PERSONHOOD' OPPONENT: Here's an interesting profile of the former Boulder mayor and current Planned Parenthood official who is leading the campaign against Colorado's "personhood" initiative, an anti-abortion measure that would seek to protect the unborn by giving them all the rights of human beings.

NOT COMING TO KANSAS CITY: The mayor there wants a ballot measure to establish light rail on the November ballot, but he's not getting much support.

TAKE IT TO THE PEOPLE, JR: Members of the Dallas city council are seeking a public referendum on whether the city should own a hotel development outright.

Tuesday Round Up: School's Out on Nevada Election Day

Joe Mathews — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:52:00 -0400

TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL: Here's an important and under-reported story: Nevada's schools will be closed on Election Day in November. That should boost turnout in a swing presidential state. And it also could give a boost to the Nevada teachers' unions, who are attempting to raise gaming taxes to boost education funds. Not having to teach that day will boost turnout. Also, about 800 of the poll workers could be students, says the state's registrar of voters. In related news, a Nevada judge rules that two measures to tax gaming to provide funds for education can remain on the ballot. The judge thinks they make little sense, but says that the voters have the right to decide that for themselves.

AG'S DOMAIN: Some agriculture interests are getting aggressive in opposing Prop 98, one of the two measures on June's California ballot that would put restrictions on eminent domain. The Sacramento Bee says that this represents a divide in the agriculture community, since the California Farm Bureau is one of the initiative's backers. (Prop 98's restrictions include tigher limitations on using condemnation for private purposes and on retn control than its competitor, Prop 99).

COLORADO CORPORATE FRAUD: The proponent of the Colorado initiative making business executives criminally responsible for corporate fraud explains himself.

MAINE MISS: The Maine initiative to establish a casino has lost its campaign manager, according to ballotpedia.

A DIFFERENT WAY OF PUBLIC FINANCING: An Alaska legislative committee has added money to the state budget for education campaigns that appear to be designed to fight off a ballot initiative lawmakers don't much like. Since states by law often have to provide unbiased information -- most notably in voter pamphlets -- this action is a mistake and should be quickly reversed.

OREGON TOP TWO ADVANCES: An initiative to establish a "top two" primary system in Oregon appears likely to qualify for the November ballot. This style of "open" (that is, multi-party) primary has recently received some backing from the U.S. Supreme Court, which struck down previous open primaries. Here's a description of how it works.