Prop*50

Petition Deadlines Looming

Initiative petitions are due in eight states over the coming week.  The combined total number of petitions circulating for signatures in these states is 104.  It generally takes election officials a month or more to verify signatures, so it will be August before we know how many of those have qualified for the ballot.

Today:  Ohio (proposed constitutional amendments)

July 1:  Arizona

Friday, July 2:  Arkansas, Nebraska, Oregon and Washington

Monday, July 5:  Michigan

Wednesday, July 7:  Massachusetts

Four More Initiatives Qualify for California Ballot

The secretary of state announced today that the following four initiatives have qualified for the November ballot, bringing the total number of initiatives in California to nine:

1408 - changes the legislative vote requirement to pass the budget from two-thirds to a simple majority

1412 - Repeals recent legislation that would allow businesses to carry back losses, share tax credits, and use a sales-based income calculation to lower taxable income

1441 - Increases legislative vote requirement to two-thirds for state levies and charges, and imposes additional requirement for voters to approve local levies and charges with limited exceptions

1451 - Eliminates state commission on redistricting

Supreme Court: Names on Petitions Are Public

The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled on Doe v. Reed, a case involving whether the names of people who sign petitions should be public or private.  The court said that the privacy of petition signers is not protected by the First Amendment, and that signatures should be public.

The case came out of Washington, where a conservative group wanted to block the release of the names of people who had signed petitions for Referendum 71.  Referendum 71 was an attempt to overturn a law giving domestic partnership rights to same-sex couples.

The sponsors of Referendum 71 argued that the names of people who signed their petitions should be kept private because they risked threats and harassment by gay rights advocates if their names were public.  They also argued that the First Amendment entitled people to sign petitions and remain anonymous.  The Court disagreed in an 8-1 ruling (Justice Thomas dissented), arguing that the state's interest in verifying signatures as valid and preventing fraud in the petition process justified making signers' names public.

An excerpt from the opinion:

The State’s interest in preserving the integrity of the electoral process suffices to defeat the argument that the [Public Records Act] is unconstitutional with respect to referendum petitions in general. That interest is particularly strong with respect to efforts to root out fraud. But the State’s interest is not limited to combating fraud; it extends to efforts to ferret out invalid signatures caused not by fraud but by simple mistake, such as duplicate signatures or signatures of individuals who are not registered to vote in the State. The State’s interest also extends more generally to promoting transparency and accountability in the electoral process.

Read the slip opinion here, and NCSL's brief in support of respondents here.

Louisiana: 12 Constitutional Amendments in 2010

The Louisiana Legislature adjourned on June 21, sending six constitutional amendments to the November ballot.  The 2009 legislature sent four amendments to the November 2010 ballot, bringing the total for that election to 10.  There will also be two amendments on the October 2 primary ballot.  Visit NCSL's Ballot Measures Database to view a listing of all 12 Louisiana constitutional amendments.

Washington: Another Initiative Likely to Qualify

The sponsors of Initiative 1107, which would cut taxes on soft drinks, bottled water and candy, have announced that they have more than enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.  They will turn in their petitions on July 2, and signature verification generally takes about a month.

Two More Initiatives Qualify for California Ballot

Initiatives 1414 and 1454 have qualified for the November 2 ballot in California, bringing the total number of initiatives in that election to five.

Initiative 1414 would prohibit the state from shifting, taking, borrowing, or restricting the use of tax revenues dedicated by law to fund local government services, community redevelopment projects, or transportation projects and services. It would also prohibit the state from delaying the distribution of tax revenues for these purposes even when the Governor deems it necessary due to a severe state fiscal hardship.

Initiative 1454 would temporarily suspend AB 32, an environmental protection law requiring a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, passed in 2006.  AB 32 would go back into effect only when California's unemployment rate drops below 5.5 percent.  According to the Los Angeles Times, the oil industry spent $3 million to gather the signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.

Five initiatives are still in signature verification in California.  Tomorrow -- June 24 -- is the last day an initiative can qualify for this year's ballot.  Any initiative that qualifies after that date would go on the 2012 primary ballot, or on the ballot in any special election held between November 2010 and the 2012 primary.

The qualification of these two initiatives brings the total number of measures on statewide ballots in November to 112, and the number of initiatives to 16.

Washington: Plenty of Signatures for 3 Initiatives

According to the Seattle Times, three initiative campaigns are reporting that they already have more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, well in advance of the July 2 petition filing deadline.  The three are:

• Initiative 1082:  would allow private workers' comp insurance
• Initiative 1098:  would tax adjusted gross incomes of more than $200,000 for individuals and $400,000 for joint filers, with the revenue generated going to fund a 20 percent cut in the state property tax, an increase in the business and occupation tax credit for small businesses, and a new trust fund for improving education and health services
• Initiative 1100:  would close state liquor stores and allow private parties to be licensed to sell liquor

A total of 46 initiatives are circulating in hopes of reaching the November 2010 ballot in Washington.

Oregon: Initiative Review Panel Seeking Citizen Participation

An Oregon non-profit yesterday sent out surveys to 10,000 randomly selected voters in hopes that they will agree to serve on Citizens' Initiative Review Panels.  Panelists will be selected from among the qualified voters who return their surveys.

This pilot project in Oregon sponsored by the group Healthy Democracy Oregon will take a novel approach to providing voters with information on initiatives.  Up to three initiatives will undergo reviews by diverse panels of 24 randomly-selected Oregon citizens.  Each panel will hold public hearings for five days, hearing testimony for initiative sponsors and opponents, as well as policy experts on the issues at hand.  The panels will then draft a "Citizens Statement" on each initiative, which will be included in the state's official voters' pamphlet.  Archives of the panels' public hearings and related materials will also be publicly available online.

This year's pilot project was approved and funded by the legislature in 2009.  In 2008, Healthy Democracy Oregon conducted their own independent demonstration project, reviewing Measure 58 on the November 2008 ballot.  This video provides an overview of the project's goals and a review of the 2008 project.

This is a project worth keeping an eye on.  It has the potential to provide a new, unbiased source of information on initiatives.

Utah: Electronic Signatures OK for Candidate Petitions

The Utah Supreme Court ruled today that the state must accept signatures on internet petitions for candidate ballot access.  While this case doesn't deal directly with the issue of initiative petition signatures, it could open the door to allowing electronic signatures on initiative petitions.  Read more from the Associated Press.

Montana Signature Deadline Passes

The deadline to submit initiative petitions for signature verification by county election officials in Montana was Friday, June 18.  According to the Billings Gazette, at least two of the ten petitions circulated this year have a good chance of qualifying for the ballot.  One would regulate payday lenders and cap interest rates at 36 percent; the other would prohibit real estate sale and transfer taxes.  Other initiatives submitted include one to change hunting license fees, a ban on trapping wild animals and birds, an anti-abortion "personhood" measure, and a repeal of the state's medical marijuana law.

Initiatives proposing changes to state law require signatures from 24,337 qualified voters, which must include signatures from five percent of the qualified voters in each of 34 of the state's 100 legislative districts.  Constitutional amendments require 48,674 signatures, including signatures from 10 percent of the qualified voters in each of 40 legislative districts.

County officials have until July 16 to verify signatures and turn the petitions in to the secretary of state.