By Taxpayers Association of Oregon / OregonWatchdog.com
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The three chief petitioners of the historic gas tax referendum (Senator Bruce Starr, Rep. Ed Diehl, Jason Williams of Taxpayers Association) launched a lawsuit against SB 1599 which aims to change the election date of the gas tax referendum from the November General Election (as printed on petition itself) and move it a lower-voter-turn-out election in the May Primary.
The deadline for submitting ballot measure voter arguments for the May Primary is March 12th — just about 8 days away.
Here are some of the legal arguments from the lawsuit:
- “Statutorily truncating judicial review of the ballot title is a fundamental violation of a self-executing constitutional right to engage in a reserved power to hold the Legislature in check by timely qualifying a referendum to the ballot for voter approval or rejection by voters.”
- “the scheduling order cuts our statutory response time in half, an issue that we would be unlikely to be faced with had the Legislature not frustrated the statutory framework for the referendum by adopting Senate Bill 1599A.”
- “the Legislature’s duty here is to facilitate, not frustrate, constitutional rights by ensuring that election procedures do not foreclose on free and equal elections, free speech, and the right to engage in direct legislation.”
- “Our volunteers were prepared to gather signatures to petition voters’ pamphlet statements into the voters’ pamphlet in lieu of a $1,200 argument filing fee per person. Senate Bill 1599A foreclosed on this right because mechanically, there is no time to have the Secretary issue petition sheets to statement filers, have those statement filers gather 500 valid signatures, and get those signatures back in their original form to the Elections Division in Marion County to be validated, all by March 12, 2026.”
- “The electorate signed the petition under one set of rules. Changing those rules after qualification undermines equal electoral participation.”
- ”The emergency clause has the effect of accelerating implementation and limiting the time available for referendum rights to operate…he emergency clause is being used not to address a genuine emergency, but to avoid or frustrate the referendum power reserved to the people.”
- “If implemented, Senate Bill 1599A will materially impair or has already foreclosed:
a. Free speech and participation in the voters’ pamphlet;
b. Meaningful public debate regarding a measure of statewide policy importance that will have an impact of people’s everyday cost of living in the form of increased transportation fuel taxes and payroll taxes on worker;
c. Judicial review necessary for neutral and impartial elections within constitutionally meaningful timeframes; and
d. The orderly placement of the measure before voters.”
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