Initiative Integrity

These statewide petitions are currently allowed to circulate for the 2012 election. Statutory initiatives require 87,213 validated signatures to qualify; constitutional amendments need 116,284 validated signatures.

If you’ve been in Oregon long, it won’t shock you to hear that not all initiative petition signatures are obtained legitimately. In court testimony, circulators have described “writing circles,” where forgers pass petition sheets around and copy signatures from old petitions on to new ones.

The initiative system is a source of power and pride for Oregonians. Yet, some have abused the system.

Information about Bill Sizemore, Kevin Mannix, and others.