PORTLAND — A federal judge has denied Move Oregon’s Border petition to bypass state-required signatures to qualify as a ballot measure its proposal for 17 counties to divorce from Oregon and become part of Idaho.
U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane ruled Monday that the petitioner, president of Move Oregon’s Border movement, was not “reasonably diligent” in attempting to collect signatures, even amid the unusual limitations due to the coronavirus global pandemic.
While the judge found that the right to petition the government is at the core of First Amendment protections, he found Move Oregon’s Border provided scant evidence of a conscientious effort to obtain signatures thus far.
The plaintiffs only held one rally in Roseburg on March 7, collecting 389 signatures from about 500 people who attended. The group also pointed to the approximately 9,195 members on its “Facebook group, the judge noted.
The state mandates petitioners obtain a minimum number of signatures in order to qualify for the ballot. But Move Oregon’s Border had argued COVID-19 restrictions had made the usual methods of signature gathering impossible.
In stark contrast, a separate petitioner “People Not Politicians Oregon,” gathered over $500,000 in support of its effort, sent out tens of thousands of mailers after Gov. Kate Brown issued COVID-19 social distancing orders, and collected more than 64,000 signatures, McShane pointed out. It needed almost 150,000 signatures by a July 2 deadline to put the proposed change to Oregon voters.
Currently, the Legislature is responsible for redrawing electoral district lines. People Not Politicians wants an independent citizen redistricting commission to do it instead, and seeks to have voters approve an amendment to the state Constitution that would allow that.
Last week, McShane granted “People Not Politicians,” the right to send its proposal to voters in November in a ballot measure. He offered Oregon’s secretary of state two options: allow the proposal on the ballot or lower the signature threshold required by 50 percent and push back the deadline to Aug. 17. Oregon’s attorney general, though, last week appealed McShane’s ruling on the “People Not Politicians” petition to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“Petitioners there were experienced in placing past initiatives on multiple ballots, and presented sworn declarations outlining plans, undertaken before the pandemic, leading to a reasonable likelihood of success on the current initiative,” McShane wrote of “People Not Politicians.”
But “Move Oregon’s Border,” McShane added, “presents no such evidence.”
“Holding one rally, collecting less than 400 signatures, and hosting a Facebook page does not constitute reasonable diligence when compared with other initiative proponents,” the judge ruled.
Because Oregon’s secretary of state holds a vital interest in regulating the petition process and McShane doesn’t believe the federal courts should “take it upon themselves to rewrite state election rules,” particularly on the eve of an election, he denied Move Oregon’s Border motion for relief.
“As Plaintiff has not demonstrated reasonable diligence, and because the state clearly has important regulatory interests in enforcing the signature requirements, Plaintiff fails to demonstrate any likelihood of success on the merits,” his ruling said.
