A fix for Oregon's initiative system

A month-long special session of the Oregon legislature convened today. It is a tryout that some legislators hope will serve as a model for future sessions.

Unfortunately, it appears that some legislative leaders are as hell-bent to run away from some of the state's real legislative emergencies as they were to declare an emergency announcing the need for one.

Last week, a Federal Judge ruled in favor of domestic partnerships in Oregon in the case of Lemons vs Bradbury.

The case involved the right of Oregonians to have some kind of remedy when the state wrongly invalidates their signature on an initiative petition.

Oregon currently takes a sample of signatures, checks the signature for a match, and approves or denies the signature based on whether the signature is believed to be valid.

The Lemons case involves people who followed the rules, had their names wrongly excluded, attempted to correct the error within the time permitted by statute, but because the state has no remedy, their names were not reinstated.

That's just not right.

We acknowledge that a signature on a ballot is not equal to a vote, but the courts have nevertheless determined that initiative petitions are still a fundamental instrument of our democracy, and electors are deserving of a measure of protection from being wrongly excluded by the state.

Moreover, the state has a compelling interest in providing this protection to electors.

The job of the Oregon's Secretary of State is to ensure the integrity of the process. To leave the office open to corruption or the appearance of corruption is to fail to protect the integrity of the process.

Right now, Oregon electors have no guarantee against their signatures being wrongly excluded, or excluded for political reasons. They have no right to remedy in the event of being wrongfully excluded, and the decision of the SOS is final, and not open to review.

That's just wrong.

The Lemons case involved a real legislative emergency, and the legislature should act to bolster the right of people who have their names wrongly removed by County Clerks or the Secretary of State to have those names restored.