Prop*50

Casino gambling proposal fails to qualify in Oregon; backers sue

Backers of an initiative proposal have sued Secretary of State Kate Brown.  Initiative 76 would have allowed a single non-tribal casino in the state.  Secretary Brown announced on July 27 that the initiative did not contain enough valid signatures and would not be on the November ballot.  Casino developers have filed suit against the secretary of state, alleging that the state's random sampling method is flawed, and that the petition did in fact have enough valid signatures.

This isn't the first suit filed this year over signature verification.  Backers of Initiative 50, a redistricting measure, also sued when their signatures were declared insufficient.  They said the state's rules for judging which signatures were eligible for the verification process was unfair.  The court disagreed on Monday, saying the process was fair and the petition lacked sufficient valid signatures.  Initiative 50 backers have not said whether they will appeal that decision.

A separate casino measure, Initiative 77, did qualify for the Oregon ballot on Tuesday.  It would authorize a single privately-owned casino in Multnomah County.  The problem is that backs need both Initiative 77 and Initiative 76 to pass.  76 would create an exception in the state constitution providing for a non-tribal casino, and 77 would authorize the backer's casino.  Without passage of 76, Initiative 77 is meaningless.

Federal health care reform headed to a vote in Colorado?

Proponents of the "Right to Health Care Choice" plan to drop off petitions at the Colorado secretary of state's office today.  The initiative would attempt to withdraw Colorado from the new federal health care legislation that requires each person to have health insurance.  It will likely take the secretary of state about a month to count and verify signatures.

Should the measure qualify for the ballot, Colorado will become the fifth state to vote on the issue this year.  Missouri voters will consider it in next week's primary election, and voters in Arizona, Florida and Oklahoma will see it on their November ballots.  Colorado's would be the first initiative to make the ballot on this topic though -- all four of the others were referred to the ballot by legislatures.

CORRECTION:  Florida's health care measure, Amendment 9, was blocked from the ballot last week by a Leon Circuit County judge on the grounds that its title and summary were misleading.

Second liquor initiative qualifies in Washington

Initiative 1105, which would allow private distribution and sales of alcohol in the state, has qualified for the ballot in Washington.  It joins Initiative 1100, which would also allow private alcohol sales, but does not require retailers to work through distributors.

This brings to five the total number of initiatives qualified for the November ballot in Washington.  Just one remains in signature verification -- Initiative 1107, which would repeal a tax on candy, soda pop, bottled water, and certain processed foods.  The taxes, some of them temporary, were passed by the 2010 legislature in an attempt to close a budget shortfall.  Signatures on this petition were gathered in just three weeks.

Fourth initiative qualifies for Washington ballot

A fourth initiative, I-1053, has qualified for the ballot in Washington.  This one is a bit complicated to explain, so bear with us while we explain a little Washington history:

In 2007, Washington voters approved Initiative 960 by a narrow 51.2% majority.  I-960 was sponsored by Washington's most prolific initiative activist, Tim Eyman, and required a 2/3 vote of the legislature to approve tax and fee increases.  During the 2010 legislative session, the legislature voted to temporarily suspend I-960 until July 2011 in order to ease the process of closing a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall.  (The Washington Legislature could do this because I-960 was statutory, not constitutional, and therefore did not require a popular vote to be amended.)  Besides making drastic budget cuts, the legislature took advantage of the temporary simple majority vote requirement to pass a tax increase on carbonated beverages, candy gum and bottled water (this tax increase may be subject to repeal by initiative this year too, by the way).  The legislature also considered increasing a tax called the Hazardous Substance Tax this year too, which falls largely on the oil industry, but in the end did not.

This year's I-1053, also sponsored by Tim Eyman, would undo the legislature's temporary suspension of I-960.  If voters approve I-1053 on November 2, I-960 will go back into effect immediately instead of in July 2011.  A coalition of Washington businesses, including the Washington Restaurant Association, the Washington Bankers Association, the Washington State Farm Bureau, and the Washington Association of Realtors, as well as other corporate interests including BP, Bank of America, and Conoco Phillips are all funders of the measure.  No doubt they worry that their industry could be hit with tax increases in the 2011 legislative session as the legislature continues to cope with a difficult economy and budget shortfalls, and they'd rather those increases be subject to the supermajority vote imposed by I-960 rather than the simple majority in effect while I-960 is suspended.

Two initiatives remain in signature verification in Washington:  I-1105, which would privatize liquor sales in the state, and I-1107, which would undo the new tax increase on carbonated beverages, bottled water, candy and gum.

Three initiatives qualify for Montana ballot

Montana secretary of state Linda McCulloch announced today that three initiatives submitted enough valid signatures to qualify for the November 2 ballot.  They are:

• I-161, which would abolish outfitter-sponsored big-game hunting
• I-164, which would limit the interest rates charged by payday lenders
• CI-105, which would prohibit any new taxes on real estate sales or transactions

The three initiatives join a measure asking voters if they want to hold a constitutional convention.  The state constitution requires that this question be posed at least every 20 years.

A total of 26 initiatives were filed, and 11 of those were circulated for signatures.

Montana: 4 initiatives close to qualifying

Friday was the deadline for county officials to turn initiative petitions over to the secretary of state.  Officials in the secretary of state's office will work throughout the weekend to count valid signatures, and results should be available early next week.

As of now, it appears that four initiatives are close to qualifying and could make the ballot next week:

• Initiative 160:  prohibits trapping animals and birds on public lands
• Initiative 161:  prohibits outfitter-sponsored nonresident hunting
• Initiative 164:  regulates interest rates charged by payday lenders
• Constitutional Initiative 105:  prohibits new taxes on real estate transactions

Oregon: 2 initiatives qualify for the ballot

The Oregon secretary of state announced today that two initiatives have qualified for the ballot:

• Petition 13 would impose mandatory minimum sentences for certain felony sex crimes and DUI convictions.  It's sponsor is former legislator Kevin Mannix, who has sponsored a number of anti-crime initiatives in Oregon.  Most recently, he sponsored Measures 60 and 61 in 2008, both of which failed to pass.
• Petition 28 would allow the creation of dispensaries to sell medical marijuana.  The use of medical marijuana is already legal in Oregon, but its sale is not.

Three more initiatives are in the signature verification stage, and results for all will be announced no later than August 1.

Petition fraud in Washington?

A Seattle Post Intelligencer blog reports that a petition circulator for Initiative 1098 is being investigated for submitting fraudulent signatures.  I-1098 would impose an income tax on Washington's highest earners.  State officials verifying signatures on the petitions noticed that several pages bearing about 350 signatures appeared to be filled out in the same handwriting and the same pen.  Further investigation revealed that while some signers were valid voters, the signatures did not match.  Law enforcement is investigating.

Even if the signatures at issue turn out to be fraudulent, it shouldn't affect whether I-1098 qualifies for the ballot.  Proponents turned in about 385,000 signatures, and just over 241,000 are needed to qualify.

This case calls to mind the fall of 2006, when five initiatives in three states were initially declared qualified for the ballot, then later removed after courts found evidence of fraud in the signature-gathering process.  Those initiatives dealt with affirmative action in Michigan; a state spending limit, judicial recall, and property rights in Montana; and a taxpayers' bill of rights in Oklahoma.

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.

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.