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East Oregonian
BALLOT: Getting an initiative on
the ballot requires a 16-step process
Continued from 1A
can add just their name,
signature and address to a
list of names if overseen by
a registered circulator, or can
fi ll out a longer form that
requires more information if
a circulator is not present.
Who can sponsor a
petition?
Anyone can be one of the
(up to three) chief sponsors
of a petition for an initiative
or referendum, including
legislators themselves. The
two referendums currently
gathering signatures both list
as chief sponsors at least one
legislator who voted against
the law they are now trying to
get voters to veto.
What is the process for
getting an initiative on the
ballot?
Getting an initiative on
the ballot requires a 16-step
process, starting with submis-
sion of a form detailing the
chief sponsors and proposed
language of the initiative.
After receiving approval and
signature sheets from the
state, chief sponsors must
get 1,000 sponsor signatures
verifi ed by the state before
the attorney general crafts the
“ballot title” — a 15-word
caption, 25-word statement
in favor, 25-word statement
against and 125-word neutral
description of the law’s effect.
There are opportunities for
opponents and sponsors to
challenge the fairness of the
ballot title wording all the way
up to the Oregon Supreme
Court. After the language is
approved, sponsors must get
approval of petition sheets
using that language before
getting approved to begin
circulating the petition. Once
signatures are turned into the
Secretary of State’s offi ce,
the measure is approved to
appear on the ballot during
the next general election if
enough of the signatures are
determined to be valid.
The process for getting
a referendum on the ballot
is shorter, skipping the
1,000 sponsor signatures
and placing the ballot title
process after signatures are
already being collected. This
is because signatures for the
referendum of a new law
must be turned in and vali-
dated within 90 days of the
legislature adjourning.
What safeguards are
in place to make sure the
process is valid?
An initiative or referen-
dum’s chief sponsors are
required to submit campaign
fi nance records and their
payroll for those who are
collecting signatures. Signa-
tures must only be collected
on special sheets with wording
and layout approved by the
Secretary of State’s offi ce.
Circulators must be registered
with the state after receiving
training, and must sign an
affi davit that they personally
witnessed each signature on
their sheets take place. It is
against the law for circulators
to make false statements, add
false signatures to the petition
or offer money or anything
of value in exchange for
signatures. Once signatures
are submitted to the state,
they are checked against the
signature on the person’s voter
registration card.
What changes does
Richardson want to make
to the initiative process?
When the offi cial ballot
title language is released,
opponents of an initiative can
challenge it in court. Because
sponsors of initiatives are not
allowed to begin circulating
a petition until that language
is offi cial, a drawn-out court
process can leave them little
time to gather signatures once
the ballot title is approved.
Secretary of State Dennis
Richardson wants to allow
sponsors to begin collecting
signatures before the ballot
title is approved, similar to
the referendum process. That
would take away opponents’
power to use a challenge to
that language as a delay tactic,
but also risks causing citizens
to sign a petition based on
language that is later ruled
misleading or biased.
Why is there talk of a
special election in January?
Oregon law states that
if a referendum collects
enough valid signatures it
will appear on the general
election ballot in November
of the next year. During the
2017 legislative session,
however, Democrats passed
a bill creating a different set
of rules just for referendums
seeking to repeal part or all
of a $550 million package of
new taxes designed to fund
Medicaid during the 2017-
2019 biennium. In order to
move the vote up to January,
the special rules include
giving the state permission to
mail out ballots before voter’s
pamphlets, shortening public
comment periods and having
a special committee made up
of two Democrats and one
Republican draft the ballot
title instead of the Attorney
General.
Republicans argue that the
special election, passed without
a single vote from their party, is
an attempt to undermine the
referendum process in order to
help a bill favored by Demo-
crats, while Democrats argue
that the timeline is necessary to
give the state time to re-work
the Oregon Health Authority’s
budget if voters nix the tax. The
state held a special referendum
election in 2010 on Measure
66 and Measure 67, which
challenged a $750 million tax
hike, for similar reasons.
The legislature also voted
to change the timeline for any
referendum on the $5.3 billion
transportation package up to
the May primaries instead of
waiting until November, but
so far no one has fi led paper-
work to challenge that piece
of legislation. Sponsors of
Referendum 301 against the
health care tax, led by Rep.
Julie Parrish, are gathering
signatures now.
How
does
Oregon
compare to other states?
According to Ballotpedia,
the “encyclopedia of Amer-
ican politics,” only 26 states
give their citizens the power
to put legislation on the ballot,
and only 15 of those allow for
referendums, statutory initia-
tives and constitutional initia-
tives like Oregon. Ballotpedia
states that Oregon holds the
record for most statewide
initiatives and referendums
passed, at 384 as of 2014,
and that Oregon holds the
record for the most initiatives
on the ballot in a single year,
with voters making decisions
on 27 different measures in
1912. One of those measures
gave Oregon women the right
to vote.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
ZENGER: Students have access to cameras and CCTVs
Continued from 1A
cityscape. She knew the exact number
of steps and stairs in various PSU build-
ings from front door to classroom.
She learned to navigate through the
school’s underground tunnel system.
After graduation, Zenger taught for
10 years at the Utah Schools for the Deaf
and Blind. In the three years Zenger has
worked at the IMESD, Superintendent
Mark Mulvihill has become a fan.
“When we hired her, we were really
excited to have such a highly qualifi ed
person who can related to kids in such
a unique way,” Mulvihill said. “She is a
huge gift to the ESD.”
Zenger’s arsenal includes everything
from white canes to the latest in tech-
nology.
“The goal is to make them as inde-
pendent as possible,” Zenger said.
On a recent day, she worked with
Ellen Paulsen, a freshman at Pendleton
High School. The teenager has uveitis,
an infl ammation of the middle layer of
the eye, and experiences disconcerting
fl uctuations in vision.
The two met up by the front offi ce
after Paulsen retrieved a white cane
from her locker. They headed to the
school’s front walk where the teenager
practiced sweeping with the cane to
detect objects and drop-offs. They
walked side by side, Jude guiding
Zenger and Paulsen practicing with her
cane, knowing the exercise could help
her in the future.
“Potentially, I could go blind,”
Paulsen said.
Paulsen said this matter-of-factly, as
if she was talking about a minor incon-
venience. Zenger smiled.
“The kids who do the best — they
have confi dence and an attitude of ‘It’s
just not going to stop me,” she said.
As the teen approaches a fl ight of
steps, Zenger asked, “Do you remember
how to do stairs?”
“Yes,” Paulsen said, with a smile. “I
got this.”
She dangled the cane out front,
letting the tip hit each step as she
climbed.
The cane is one of the most
low-tech tools in Paulsen’s arsenal of
resources. Under Zenger’s tutelage,
she is mastering hardware and software
designed for people who are visually
impaired. Tools include closed-cap-
tioned television, magnifi ers, cameras
and a myriad programs to scan text
and read aloud, enlarge type and
change mouse, background and type
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Sharon Zenger, right, demonstrates one particular method of holding a
white cane while walking upstairs to freshman Ellen Paulsen on Friday
at Pendleton High School.
on computer screens to eye-friendly
colors and contrasts. There’s Braille,
of course, but now there is something
called “refreshable Braille,” a device
that converts text to Braille characters
using round-tipped pins that can be
raised or lowered into various letter
combinations. Zenger also has a library
of traditional paper Braille books in her
offi ce: “Charlotte’s Web,” “Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory,” “Little House
on the Prairie” and dozens of others.
Students can use cameras and
CCTVs to magnify a dissecting tray
or a white board across the room. A
multitude of applications designed
for iPads and smartphones round out
an ever-increasing list of options that
didn’t exist when Zenger was a girl
preparing for blindness.
Paulsen rolls a cart from class to
class, stocked with camera, computer,
CCTV, iPad and textbooks.
As the teenager goes to her next
class, Zenger and Jude head for the
parking lot.
The two are a team. They rarely
stray from one another. Zenger’s cell
phone message says, “You’ve reached
Sharon and Jude.”
In the parking lot, Tod waits for
Sharon in a silver 2015 GMC Terrain.
While he waits, he spends his time
sleeping and thinking, running errands
or going to the car wash as Sharon
meets with students. Back on the road,
the retired electrician drives while his
daughter makes calls.
“She’s mostly on the phone, taking
care of business,” Tod said. “This is a
rolling work area.”
They travel miles and miles together
— the odometer reads 90,000 miles —
in an easy camaraderie. Except for the
fact that she can’t drive, there are few
reminders that she can’t see.
“I forget most of the time,” he said.
He remembers the early days.
Sharon got diagnosed at age three after
her parents noticed she stumbled in dim
light and sometimes wouldn’t reach for
objects. They helped her prepare for
worsening vision, but encouraged her
to do what she could, even driving. He
remembers when she made the decision
to turn in her license.
“One day, she came home and
handed me her license,” he recalled.
“I said, ‘What’s this?’ She said, ‘I just
don’t feel comfortable any more.’”
While she doesn’t drive, it’s obvious
Zenger feels comfortable in life. Part of
the credit goes to Jude. The dog takes
his job as Zenger’s eyes seriously. He
walks a brisk 3.5 miles-per-hour, she
said, a perfect pace, and likes to be on
the go, just like her. Occasionally, he
disobeys her in order to shield her from
dangers such as the oncoming driver
who tried to beat her through a cross-
walk and misjudged their pace. Jude
swung her around and led her back to
the curb.
The dog doesn’t pay much attention
to anyone other than Zenger.
“He knows who he’s working for,”
Zenger said, with a smile, “and that’s
me.”
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