What are initiatives, referendums and referrals?

Initiatives are citizen sponsored amendments to either the Constitution or to Statutory law. Referrals are proposed laws that the legislature has sent to the voters to either approve or reject.

Referendums give citizens the power to refer and vote on acts passed by the previous Legislative Assembly, as long as the act does not take effect earlier than 90 days after the end of the assembly.

Who sponsors initiatives, referendums and referrals?

Initiatives are sponsored by any citizen or organization in the state, as are referendums. Referrals are sponsored by the state legislature.

How do initiatives get on the ballot?

Getting an initiative on the ballot can be a long, time consuming process: The Chief Petitioners must submit the text of a prospective petition to the Secretary of State's Office.

The Attorney General reviews the proposed measure, then submits a draft ballot title for the measure containing a caption identifying the subject of the petition, a brief definition of the effects of the measure if affirmed or rejected, and an overall summary of the measure. Comments from the public are then solicited regarding the draft title.

The Attorney General then submits a certified ballot title, taking into consideration any comments received on the draft title.

Petitioners or citizens may petition the Supreme Court if they are not satisfied with the Attorney General's certified title. If the Supreme court finds a violation of Oregon election laws in the way the title is written, they may amend the title and certify the amended version. If the court finds no violation of Oregon election laws, then they may certify the title with no changes.

Finally, The Secretary of State gives the petitioners approval to circulate the petition to gather signatures.

If 100% of the required signatures are gathered before the deadline and certified as valid, then the measure is remanded to the ballot.

How do referendums get on the ballot?

Filing a referendum follows basically the same steps as outlined in filing an initiative, except that the petitioners must file the prospective petition no later than 90 days after the assembly which passed the act to be referred has adjourned.

How do referrals get on the ballot?

The state legislature may refer proposed laws for the voters to either approve or reject. The legislature must file the measure with the Secretary of State's Office. If they wish, that body may draft a ballot title that is then submitted along with the proposed measure. The Attorney General then issues a draft ballot title that may be identical to the one submitted by the legislature or it may be different.Citizens are then allowed to comment on the draft title.

The Attorney General submits a certified ballot title, taking into consideration any comments received on the draft title.If the citizens are unhappy with the certified title, they may petition the Supreme Court to change the title. The procedure for this step is identical to the one for appealing initiative titles.When the title is finally certified, the measure is remanded to the ballot.

Who oversees the initiative process?

The Secretary of State and the Attorney General's office work in conjunction with one another. The Secretary of State's office accepts all prospective petitions, approves measures to circulate, and verifies signatures. Other tasks of the Secretary of State's of Office include sending copies of prospective petitions to the Attorney General's office, notifying the public that comments are being accepted, accepting comments, passing comments on to the Attorney General, numbering ballot Measures, and having the measures printed in the Voter's pamphlets.

The Attorney General is responsible for making sure that each proposed measure deals with only one subject, and that the summaries and statements of "yes" and "no" comply with Oregon election law. The Attorney General is also responsible for creating a draft ballot title, sending the draft title to the Secretary of State, responding to comments made by the public on any draft title, issuing a certified title, delivering it to the Secretary of State's Office, and representing the state before the Oregon Supreme Court when citizens appeal a certified ballot title.

The Secretary of State maintains a document that describes the whole process in detail.

What is the difference between a constitutional and a statutory amendment?

A Constitutional amendment amends the Oregon State Constitution, which affects all laws based on the amended portion of the Constitution. A Statutory initiative either amends state statutes or creates a new state statute, but has no effect on the Oregon Constitution. In order to place a statutory initiative on the ballot the petitioners must collect the signatures of qualified voters, equal to 6 percent of the total votes cast for all candidates at the most recent Gubernatorial election. A Constitutional amendment initiative, on the other hand, must contain signatures equal to 8 percent of the total votes cast for all candidates at the most recent Gubernatorial election.

I'd like to see the whole law!

Yeah, we thought you would. For you policy wonks, here's the entire text of ORS 250.