Chapter 1021 Oregon Laws
1999
Session Law
AN ACT
HB 3053
Relating to elections;
creating new provisions; and amending ORS 250.105.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1.
ORS 250.105 is amended to read:
250.105. (1) An initiative or referendum petition relating to a
state measure shall be filed with the Secretary of State for the purpose of
verifying whether the petition contains the required number of signatures of
electors. The filed petition shall contain only original signatures. Each
petition shall be verified in the order in which the petitions are filed with
the secretary.
(2) An initiative or referendum petition relating to a state
measure shall not be accepted for filing if it contains less than 100 percent
of the required number of signatures.
(3) If an initiative or referendum petition is submitted not
less than 165 days before the election at which the proposed measure is to be
voted upon and if the Secretary of State determines that insufficient
signatures have been submitted but the deadline for filing the petition has not
passed, the petitioners may submit additional signatures.
(4) The Secretary of State by rule shall designate a
statistical sampling technique to verify whether a petition contains the
required number of signatures of electors. A petition shall not be rejected for
the reason that it contains less than the required number of signatures unless
two separate sampling processes both establish that the petition lacks the
required number of signatures. The second sampling must contain a larger number
of signatures than the first sampling.
If two samplings are required under this subsection, the total number of
signatures verified on the petition shall be not less than five percent of the
total number of signatures on the petition.
(5) For purposes of
estimating the number of duplicate signatures contained in a petition, the
Secretary of State shall apply at least an eight percent duplication rate in
the first sampling of signatures on all petitions. If a second sampling of
signatures is required under subsection (4) of this section, the secretary
shall calculate an estimated signature duplication rate for each petition for
which a second sampling is required. For purposes of calculating an estimated
signature duplication rate for each petition for which a second sampling is
required, the county clerks shall report to the secretary the number of
electors determined to have signed a specific petition more than once.
(6) When verifying
signatures for a state initiative or referendum petition, the county clerk
shall identify on an elector's voter registration record or other database that
the elector signed the specific initiative or referendum petition.
[(5)] (7) The Secretary of State may employ
professional assistance to determine the sampling technique to be designated under subsection (4) of
this section.
SECTION 2. The amendments to ORS 250.105 by section 1
of this 1999 Act apply to signatures on an initiative or referendum petition
relating to a state measure that is filed for the purpose of verifying whether
the petition contains the required number of signatures of electors on or after
the effective date of this 1999 Act.
Approved by the Governor
August 20, 1999
Filed in the office of the
Secretary of State August 23, 1999
Effective date October 23,
1999
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