Petitioners have submitted more than 60 prospective initiatives to the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office this election cycle, and many still have a chance to appear before voters on the November 2020 ballot.
Of the 62 initiatives, four have been approved to gather signatures, 16 were officially withdrawn by their petitioners and seven were rejected by Secretary of State Bev Clarno.
The remainder are in various stages of the process, including on appeal to the state Supreme Court or still needing the initial 1,000 sponsorship signatures.
Currently, three initiatives that were approved to gather signatures are moving forward. The fourth — an initiative to allow campaign finance regulation through a constitutional amendment — will not because a legislative referral seeking that same goal is already going to be on the ballot.
“The referral, we didn’t write it word for word, but it’s certainly satisfactory. More than satisfactory, it’s good for the state,” said Ron Buel, chief petitioner of IP 1 and activist with Honest Elections. “We’re pretty confident that the voters will pass this referral.”
The three others would:
- Decriminalize the possession of most drugs and expand addiction treatment services;
- Create a program to administer psilocybin in the treatment of mental health issues;
- Require that certain new transportation fees or tolls be approved by voters.
Additional petitions could still be introduced, though the longer petitioners wait to begin the process, the less time they have to gather the necessary signatures.
To qualify for the ballot, an initiative’s petitioners must submit signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office by July 2, 2020. Initiatives attempting a statutory change must gather 112,020 valid signatures, while those seeking a constitutional change must gather 149,360.
The Secretary of State’s Office will verify signatures by Aug. 1.
