Utah Bill Kicks Already Down Initiative

Will legislators never learn? The people want to take part in government too. Members of the legislature in the Beehive State want to sting the people once again with changes to make the initiative process more difficult. This time, to correct a “mistake” that was made two years prior.

The current law in Utah requires that ballot measures qualify with petition signatures based on the number of ballots cast in the previous presidential election, rather than the typical gubernatorial election basis. This was changed in 2011 to hamper possible initiatives during the period after a special gubernatorial election if the Governor were to step down or pass away while in office, when voter turnout would be markedly lower.

Such an election occurred in 2010, when Utah Governor Jon Huntsman resigned to become the US Ambassador to China. So with this special election, the signature requirements for statewide initiative petitions in the next cycle went down a whopping 32%! There were 302,219 fewer votes cast in 2010’s special gubernatorial election than in 2008’s general election. So, a group could qualify an initiative with roughly 64,000 valid signatures statewide, instead of almost 95,000, though they would also have to qualify the statewide issue in 27 of 29 state senate districts. No citizen-initiated measure has appeared on the ballot in Utah since 2007, when the powerful state teachers union placed a referendum on the ballot. The last initiative measure to make the ballot was in 2004.

When legislators changed the statewide rules, however, they did not bother to make the change applicable to county and local initiatives. So, for instance, a group in present-day Salt Lake County seeking to qualify an initiative would only be required to collect signatures totaling 10% of the ballots cast in the 2012 gubernatorial election, not the presidential election. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Keith Grover (R-Provo), claims he’s introducing HB14 to restore parity to the petition process in Utah.

Because they wouldn’t want it to be too easy, would they?

http://utahpolicy.com/view/full_story/21602729/article-Bill-Would-Raise-Threshhold-to-Get-Citizen-Initiatives-on-the-Ballot?instance=featured_home_policy

1.4 Million Signatures on Boy Scout Petition

Current and former members of the Boy Scouts of America rallied outside the organization’s Irving, Texas, national headquarters on February 4 to support the members of Boy Scout troops who have been excluded from the group for being homosexual. They brought with them 1.4 million signatures on a petition aiming to change the Boy Scout’s rules on the inclusion of homosexual members.

Jennifer Tyrrell, a former den leader, ousted because she is a lesbian, calls the Boy Scout’s policy “archaic.”

“Countless Boy Scouts and leaders have been removed from scouting just because they are being who they are,” Tyrrell said. “I don’t want one parent to have to tell their sons they can’t be part of Scouts because they’re not good enough.”

Individuals on both sides of the issue have weighed in with their opinions, including President Obama as well as Texas Governor Rick Perry. Perry, who was an Eagle Scout and authored a book on Scouting, opposes changing the Boy Scout’s policy.

“I think most people see absolutely no reason to change the position,” said Perry, “and neither do I.”

The petition’s signatures were turned into the Boy Scout’s headquarters and, as of yet, there has been no confirmation of their number or validity. The Boy Scout’s executive board began three days of closed-door meetings on Monday, which will include discussions on this topic.

The story from the Associated Press

Missoula Petition: No Raise for Superintendant

Residents of Missoula, Montana – both students and adults – are speaking their minds via an online petition regarding the local superintendent of schools and a member of the school board. The petition was sparked by the school board giving Superintendent Alex Apostle a 13% pay raise, which would take his annual salary to upwards of $220,000 after three years.

The petition, which currently has 1,767 signatures toward its goal of 2,000 signatures, states: “We ask that Dr. Apostle reject the raise and Tony Rehbein and the MCPS School Board be reevaluated in the May School Board election.” In explaining the reasons for the petition effort, supporters add that “all members of the School Board” are “not serving in the best interest of the students of Missoula.”

Student Yetta Stein does not believe Apostle is doing a job worthy of such an extravagant pay increase. “He hasn’t improved my education and his slogan, ‘Graduation Matters’ has done very little.”

But School Board Trustee Jim Sadler points out that Superintendent Apostle was being courted by other school districts with a similar salary offer. Apostle also has supporters, like one Hellgate High School student who praises Apostle for “…making sure we all graduate, just keeping track of things.”

A link to a news story on the petition.

A link to the petition.

70,000 Sign Petition about Ohio Rape Case

Three unnamed students from Ohio State University have presented an online petition with 70,000 signatures to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office calling for a full investigation into the rape of a teenage girl in the summer of 2012 in Steubenville, Ohio.

“We want to make sure everybody involved in this crime is fully investigated and justice is served,” said Kate Londen, communications manager for reproductive rights advocacy group Choice USA.

The alleged perpetrators, two Steubenville area high school football players, are at the center of the controversy. In an area that idolizes high school athletes, the two young men and their supporters claim they are the victims of a “public lynching.”

Certainly, the defendants would not be in this situation without the intervention of social media. Photographs taken by witnesses and onlookers made their way to the internet, drawing international attention to the case. Many residents of Steubenville believe there was a cover up and that charges would not have been filed without the social media pressure.

In the midst of all the publicity being generated, the prosecutor, the rape victim and one of the defendants have requested the trial proceedings be closed to the public and the media, but Judge Thomas Lipps ruled against those requests.

As of this writing, Attorney General DeWine had not responded to the petition calling for further investigations.

Another 31,259 signatures have been affixed to a different petition concerning the Steubenville rape case at the White House’s “We the People” website. That petition wants the case “pushed up to the higher courts so that there is some real justice, also to allow for a jury trial for all involved.”

Los Angeles Times story on the petition

New York Times story about the rape case

Petition for Justice Department investigation at WhiteHouse.gov

Fury on the Fulham Road

Supporters of the London, England-based Chelsea Football Club are upset; incensed even. So bothered, in fact, they’ve turned to the petition process with an online effort atchange.org that asks the Club to “Ensure that [manager] Rafael Benitez is not considered beyond his interim title.”

In November of 2012, the Chelsea executives appointed Rafael Benitez, a Spaniard coach who had once managed Liverpool Football Club and Inter Milan as the interim manager of Chelsea after the sacking of fan-favorite Roberto DiMatteo.

Only 6 months prior to his sacking, DiMatteo had delivered the prize-of-prizes in European soccer, the UEFA Champions League title as well as England’s FA Cup. A poor run of results beginning in late October had Chelsea owner and Russian billionaire oligarch Roman Abramovich with his finger on the proverbial trigger, as Chelsea has a dismal record on retaining managers that don’t provide the winning results Abramovich craves.

After DiMatteo’s dismissal, Benitez’s hiring caught Chelsea fans by surprise. Benitez had been quoted on previous occasions not wanting the Chelsea job, and got fans’ dander up by claiming they were not passionate. The venom came out immediately as supporters roundly booed Benitez at his first match in charge versus Premiership title-contenders Manchester City. That level of vitriol has continued, since Benitez has not markedly improved Chelsea’s play. Not to mention the two cup competitions that Chelsea let slip through its fingers with Benitez at the helm. However, despite delivering the worst run of results in a shorter span than any of the previous seven managers, the revolving door for the managers has not been tripped yet for Benitez.

Faced with the prospect that Benitez might stay, Chelsea fans have decided to act. An online petition has appeared that aims to drive home the point that the Chelsea supporters want Benitez out. Appearing on change.org, the petition has at the time of writing, almost 7,300 signatures. While not legally binding, the petition serves to make known the voice of the supporters in a respectful and official manner.

While it is unknown whether the executives at the Chelsea Football Club will address or respond to the petition, the message is unmistakable and serves as an example for anyone looking to create change. From petitioning against an unpopular or dysfunctional law or seeking change in the leadership of their favorite sports team, the will of the people is unmistakable in the form of a petition.

https://www.change.org/petitions/chelsea-football-club-ensure-that-rafael-benitez-is-not-considered-beyond-his-interim-title

Here Comes “The Sun” Against Anti-Referendum Bills

Maryland’s largest-circulation newspaper, The Baltimore Sun, came out against new legislation being proposed by Democrats to make it more difficult for citizens to refer legislative enactments to a vote of the people. The paper editorialized against one proposal to more than triple the number of signatures required from the current 3% of votes cast for governor in the previous election (55,736 voter signatures) to 5% of registered voters (184,726 signatures). Other proposed changes include outlawing paying circulators based on their productivity and reducing the amount of time for citizens to gather all these signatures on petitions.

All this legislative activity transpired after the defeat of three Republican-backed referendums in last November’s election – the first referendums on the state’s ballot in the last 20 years.

The Sun editorial did suggest that future referendums should not be allowed to block the law from going into effect until a vote of the people. Like Maryland, of the 23 states with a statewide referendum or “People’s Veto” process, 22 of them – all but Wyoming – prevent the law from taking effect until the people have had a chance to vote on it.

The story in the Baltimore Sun

Petitioner sues city in Oregon

Laurie Grooman of Newberg, Oregon has “Seen the Elephant,” so to speak, when it comes to being a paid signature gatherer for Voice of the Electorate. Arrested 3 times in 2012 after refusing to stop signature collecting in public places, Grooman is now filing suit against the city of Hillsboro for her arrest in May of that year. At that public event held at a recreational complex, other advocates were present to witness her arrest while petitioning for Oregon’s Ballot Measure 84.

“It’s a blatant civil rights violation,” Grooman’s attorney Ross A. Day says. “What she was doing was engaging in protected speech.”

A protection against free speech infringements such as these is something that the Beaver State’s neighbor to the north, Washington, is seeking to fortify with Initiative 517. Provisions of I-517 would allow petition circulators to collect signatures at public places such as the complex where Grooman was arrested.

From the Portland Tribune

Two Views of Show-Me State’s Petition Process

Two statewide elected officials seem at odds over the petition process in Missouri. Jason Kander, the Show-Me State’s new Secretary of State, just implemented an online program that displays initiative proposals as soon as they are filed, allowing the public a five-day comment period before the secretary of state and the state auditor must complete their ballot summary and fiscal statement, respectively.

In the past, initiative proposals were not posted on the secretary of state’s website until after a ballot summary and fiscal note were written, so citizens had no comment period at this stage in the process.

“It is essential that Missourians’ voices are heard during the initiative petition process, which is why I have opened it up to the public,” Kander said. “My office will always draft fair, easy-to-understand ballot summary language. Making the process more transparent and accessible is part of that effort.”

The program is partly in response to Kander’s predecessor, Robin Carnahan, whose ballot summaries were consistently accused of being partisan and unfair, and overturned in court more than “all previous secretaries of state combined.” Carnahan’s tenure saw a dramatic spike in the amount of litigation over ballot language and, in part because of all the litigation, a huge increase in the number of initiatives submitted to her office from 2004-2012, with 16 measures in 2004, but 143 measures filed in 2012. (Of those 143 measures filed, only two made the ballot.)

Unlike Secretary of State Kander, Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich doesn’t seem to want any additional citizen involvement in the initiative process. Schweich complained recently about all the work his office has to do writing fiscal statements for initiatives, calling Missouri’s petition system “out of control” because of all the measures submitted. Schweich is calling for reforms to the process to prevent so manyt initiative filings, though even he admits that recent court decisions may fix the problem. So far this year, only 5 initiatives have been filed.

Last year, Schweich refused to write any more fiscal notes for initiatives, leading theKansas City Star to charge that “it’s arbitrary of the auditor to singlehandedly decide he’s going to defy state statute because he came out on the short end of a couple of [court] decisions.”

Secretary of State adds new online public comment on initiatives.

State Auditor says process is “out of control.”

Pro-Initiative Measure Heads to Legislature

Yesterday, the Washington Secretary of State’s office reported that Initiative 517 had passed the obstacle of signature validation on the 346,906 signatures submitted on petitions. The measure was certified as having 272,425 valid voter signatures after the state performed a check on a random sampling of 3% of the signatures. More than 78.5% of the signatures in the sample were verified giving the initiative a cushion of more than 30,000 valid signatures over the legal requirement.

Now that I-517 has been certified, the initiative goes to the Washington Legislature, where it will proceed in one of three ways: the legislature can pass I-517 as it is written; take no action, which would ensure placement on the November 2013 ballot; or legislators could place an alternative measure on the ballot, in addition to I-517.

Citizens in Charge contributed $200,000 to the now officially successful petition drive for I-517. We’re glad we were able to help this important reform campaign and congratulate the proponents of this initiative and the roughly 350,000 Evergreen State voters who signed the petition.

The Attorney General’s title, which will appear on the ballot if the legislature doesn’t enact the measure, reads: Initiative Measure No. 517 concerns initiative and referendum measures. This measure would set penalties for interfering with or retaliating against signature-gatherers and petition-signers; require that all measures receiving sufficient signatures appear on the ballot; and extend time for gathering initiative petition signatures.

Read the Associated Press report

Initiative 517 campaign website

Idaho Legislators Move to Block Referendums

The Idaho Legislature seems to be following the Maryland Legislature’s lead with the same knee-jerk reaction, seeking to legislatively block future referendums after several appeared on the ballot last November. The key difference is that Maryland voters approved the legislature’s enactments in three referendums last November, while Idaho voters reversed the legislature for the first time since the 1930s, overturning three laws concerning education policy.

On Monday, at the behest of the Idaho Farm Bureau’s lobbyist, Sen. Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, introduced Senate Bill 1026 into the Senate State Affairs Committee. The bill would require that, to place an initiative on the ballot or to refer an act of the legislature for a vote, citizens must gather petition signatures from six (6) percent of voters in 22 of the 35 state senate districts – in addition to still meeting the current requirement of gathering signatures from six percent of voters statewide.

Sen. McKenzie and the Farm Bureau argue that initiatives and referendums should have a broader, statewide base of support, instead of garnering their signatures mostly from Idaho’s population centers. But the problems with this proposal are numerous:

* If passed, SB 1026 would make any future initiative or referendum far more difficult, by turning one statewide petition drive into an equally difficult statewide petition drive, plus 22 separate petition drives in state senate districts. That’s a lot more work for proponents and should they fall short in even one of those 22 districts, their issue would be blocked from the ballot.

* SB 1026 also requires that petition forms be separated by county and also by senate district, which will make petitioning extremely cumbersome. Any citizens mistakenly signing on the wrong form would have their signatures discarded.

* The legislation would also require that any Idahoan signing a petition know the number of the state senate district in which he or she lives in order for that citizen’s petition signature to count. (Most people don’t know their state senator, much less the district number. Do you?)

As one comment left at the Idaho Press-Tribune website put it: “Absolute arrogance. The voters overruled the boys and girls in Boise last fall and they want to make sure it can’t happen again.”

Back in 1997, the Idaho Legislature passed a bill with a similar distribution requirement, mandating that initiative and referendum proponents gather signatures from six percent of voters in 22 counties throughout the state. That legislation was struck down in federal court as an unconstitutional restriction of the “one man, one vote” principle, because counties are not based on equal population. The current legislation is different in that legislative districts are population-based.

The bill, SB 1026, will next go to hearing, which could be set as early as next week.

The story from the Idaho Press

The Bill at the Idaho Legislature’s web site