Issue Position: Initiative Petition Reform

Issue Position

Oregon's Initiative system was a shining example of Democracy in the US and the world. Kate Brown has made it treacherous, difficult and expensive Her policies must be reformed by replacing Kate Brown.

Under Kate Brown our revered Initiative Petition process is much further out of reach for average citizens. Her policies do not serve Oregonians, and may violate the Oregon Constitution, which demands that no law restrict voter access to this vital tool of Democracy. I'm running for Secretary of State to highlight these problems.

Her Elections Division has become a hostile, secretive organization that encourages signature gathering companies to spy on each other. Much of the 'investigation' of election complaints consists of receiving these reports from competing signature gathering companies, who vie to undermine each other by filing anonymous complaints. The elections division then responds by calling circulators and encouraging them to report on their emploer. We can do so much better.

Kate Brown imposed arbitrary, hyper-technical directives that disqualify as many voter signatures as possible from petitions. These directives were put in place with no legislative, judicial or public review. Through these unilateral policies, Kate Brown silenced the voices of tens of thousands of qualified voters. Voters should be outraged at this practice; I am challenging these policies in court.

My Elections Division Sunshine Act will restore integrity to the Initiative process and transform the Elections Division into a cooperative agency charged with aiding, assisting and actively helping chief petitioners in every way possible. Our Elections Division should partner with chief peitioners, facilitating their efforts to reach the ballot rather than throwing up roadblocks.

The act may include A Model Circulator Management System to eliminate confusion over compliance with election laws; strong Petition Signature Retention Policies and Electronic Petition Signing similar to online voter registration.

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