Timeline for January 23, 2018 Special Election
The Oregon Constitution requires that after the Legislature
passes a tax increase, the people shall have the power to veto it through the
referendum process. This referendum process enables the people to overrule
politicians in Salem. The referendum is the “people’s veto” and gives
Oregonians, who can collect enough signatures within 90 days, the opportunity to
have such tax increases placed on the ballot for a democratic vote. This right of
referendum was adopted by the voters in 1902 and is essential to our democracy.
This year, and back in 2009, the legislature passed laws to circumvent the time-tested
referendum process.
On July 6, 2017 the legislature passed Senate Bill 229. This
bill avoids the existing referendum process in the following important ways:
First, it moved the referendum date from the November 2018
general election to a special election on January 23, 2018; second, it removed
the Attorney General’s authority to write the ballot title and gave that
authority to a partisan legislative committee; third, it removed the authority
to write an explanatory statement from a balanced, nonpartisan committee and gave
that authority to a partisan legislative committee; and forth, it instructed
the Secretary of State to create a timeline for the special referendum process.
In accordance with the Secretary of State’s responsibilities
under Senate Bill 229, the Elections Division announced today the special
election timeline which (unlike the 2009 referendum timeline which gave only 33
hours for public comment), provides sufficient time for both public input and
judicial review.
In short, today’s proposed special election timeline
attempts to follow the time-tested election process, while ensuring ample time
for public comment, legislative drafting, and Supreme Court review.
The Secretary of State’s ultimate obligation is to you, the
people of Oregon, and is dedicated to ensuring a fair referendum election. This
timeline aligns as closely as possible with the established statutory process as
if the Attorney General were drafting the ballot title. The timeline below gives
the partisan legislative committee two and a half weeks to draft a ballot
title. This is even longer than the Attorney General normally has to draft a
ballot title. The proposed timeline also aligns with the Attorney General’s customary
process of providing the important opportunity for the public to comment on the
draft before it is finalized. After the period for public comment is past, the partisan
legislative committee then has two weeks to review public comments, respond to
criticism for partisan drafting, make necessary improvements to the language,
and certify a final ballot title. Under today’s timeline, the Oregon Supreme
Court has only five weeks for judicial review—a process which normally requires
months.
Back in 2009, the legislature circumvented the customary
process for writing the ballot titles for Measures 66 and 67. For those
Measures, only 33 hours were provided for public comment, then, 20 hours later
the final ballot titles were passed. Then, only a few weeks were allowed for
Supreme Court review. This was insufficient time. It was a charade that
violated the fundamental fairness of the democratic process. Today’s timeline
corrects the 2009 inadequacies by providing adequate time for public
participation and Supreme Court review.
The calendar below sets forth the timeline. If you believe
the timeline is appropriate to enable adequate time for public involvement and
Supreme Court review, please email us at elections.sos@oregon.gov. If you
have comments or suggestions to improve this timeline, our Elections Division
would also like to hear from you at elections.sos@oregon.gov.
Dennis Richardson
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