HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMM. 214 Wilkns, M - ARTICLE XVTESTIMONY ON CHARTER ARTICLE XV
February 12, 2010
To: Charter Commission
From: Marian W. Wilkins
Subject: STATISTICAL SAMPLING FOR VERIFYING PETITIONS
I was a member of the committee that did the revision of Article II
(Initiative and Referendum) and have recently been working with the
committee examining Article XV on Charter Revision. It seemed logical for
the two processes to be similar since they both may involve citizens
circulating petitions.
You will receive testimony from the League of Women Voters that will
present a rewrite of Article XV using many guidelines from Article II so I
will not repeat them. I do heartily support them.
In doing a study of these Articles we have had the opportunity to discuss
areas that have been a problem for both petitioners and the election office
which must deal with the whole process including signature verification. It
seems that our committee had always assumed that the signatures on a
petition were the most important aspect of verification. It turns out that this
is not the case even though all wording in the two Charter articles implies it.
This led to reexamining just how the petitions were verified here and on the
mainland.
Even though Article XV, in its present form, requires that petition signatures
be verified, our county office of elections does not presently have the
equipment to support scanning of signatures on a petition, (I’m not sure such
equipment exists) so they must be verified manually. It would take days
(weeks?) and many people to go over and check each signature and other
information. We and our election officials are aware that there is another
way to process petitions which is currently REQUIRED in the state of
Oregon for county petitions. This is called “statistical sampling”. This
method could be used for all Articles in the charter which require large
numbers of signatures on petitions, such as Recall, Initiative and
Referendum and Charter Revision or Amendment. I am assuming that in
order for the elections office to do this it must be permitted or required in the
Charter. The sample would be specified by a person QUALIFIED in the
field—not by the county or the petitioners.
The following is the wording as found in Oregon Election Laws, 2005-2006,
Elections-Initiative and Referendum, County Elections: 250.215 Filing
Officer for county measure; filing requirements; signature verification.
“(2) For any petition requiring a number of signatures exceeding 4,500, 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 may not be rejected for the reason that it contains less
than the required number of signatures unless two separate sampling
procedures 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.”
The words “Secretary of State” would be replaced by the proper county
official, possibly the County Clerk.
Although you are short of time, many of us feel that it would be well worth
the effort to adopt new methods and procedures for petitioning which would
clarify, make more transparent, and facilitate the process for all concerned.
Thank you for your consideration and thank you for your time on this
commission.
Marian W. Wilkins
325-6116
73-1410 Kaloko Dr. A
Kailua Kona, HI 96745
Page 2 Testimony on Article XV February 12, 2010