Investigating Signature Gathering: A Proactive Look at the Initiative System

I  ran for office last year promising voters I’d fight to restore integrity to our citizen initiative and referendum system.

The citizen initiative is deeply ingrained in Oregon’s political DNA. It has changed our culture and has become one of the biggest drivers in the state budget, from Measure 5 property tax limitations to Measure 11 mandatory-minimum sentencing.

Everywhere I go, I hear worries that measures get on the ballot through illegal methods such as fraud and forgery. The issue has clearly concerned the Legislature as well. Lawmakers passed major reforms in 2007 and again in 2009.

To ensure measures reach the ballot through legal and legitimate means, the Legislature authorized a pilot project to make spot checks from August until the end of 2009 to make sure petitioners are in compliance with the law. Contrary to what some may claim, the spot checks are not targeting the referenda on the tax measures passed in the last session by the Legislature. They’re also observing petitioners for some of the seven other citizen initiatives approved to circulate. When the signatures for the referenda are handed in on Sept. 25, investigators will continue their work through the end of the year.

So just what are the observers looking for? Violations, both major and minor. Minor violations might include not using authorized forms or the failure of a signature gatherer to personally witness a signature, as the law requires. Major violations involve bribing a voter to sign or forging names onto a petition. The observers also will make sure no one interferes with voters interested in signing a petition. New reforms make it a felony to hinder or delay these encounters. Investigators are watching for that, too.

It’s always easy to assume the worst. Indeed, critics — including The Oregonian’s editorial board — question the efficacy of the investigations based on just the first two weeks of a nearly five-month project. But this is a straightforward, nonintrusive observation of the process, and it’s already made a difference. In one recent training, a trainer told attendees that he would “do everything by the book” as a result of investigators being present.

The investigators are simply observing what is going on in full view of the world. They do not interfere with the interaction between signature gatherers and signers, and they talk to the signature gatherers only when approached by the circulator.

I’m hesitant to characterize our findings thus far because we’re only a few weeks into a five-month project. But so far, with more than 300 contacts with circulators, we’ve seen no major violations. We found some relatively minor transgressions by one citizen initiative campaign, but they appeared to be oversights and were handled with a phone call to the chief petitioner.

When the observers’ work is complete, we will provide a full report to the Legislature.

I hope we find few problems. I hope everyone gathering signatures knows what the law requires and observers and gatherers alike treat everyone with dignity and respect.

Until recently, compliance with the law has been a reactive process. Under my watch, we’re taking a comprehensive, proactive approach to this issue for the first time in this state’s history. This is one more step in helping Oregonians regain confidence in their citizen initiative system.

Kate Brown is Oregon secretary of state.