Sign a Petition
What is a petition?
Petitions are a way for citizens to change their government directly. Citizens draft a petition and gather signatures from other citizens to demonstrate support for their cause. If a citizen-led petition gets enough signatures, the petition will appear on the ballot in the next election. The chief petitioner is responsible for getting enough signatures to get the petition on the ballot. There are often many petitions available to sign during any given legislative cycle, though usually only a few get enough signatures to move forward.
What types of petitions are there?
In Oregon, petitions can be used to make laws, reject laws, approve laws, and remove elected officials. Each type of petition has a specific name.
Where do I sign?
Let's get started! There are a few things you should do to sign a petition. Keep these in mind the next time you see a circulator.
Petitions are a way for citizens to change their government directly. Citizens draft a petition and gather signatures from other citizens to demonstrate support for their cause. If a citizen-led petition gets enough signatures, the petition will appear on the ballot in the next election. The chief petitioner is responsible for getting enough signatures to get the petition on the ballot. There are often many petitions available to sign during any given legislative cycle, though usually only a few get enough signatures to move forward.
- Chief petitioner: the person or group that starts a petition and serves as a contact between the citizens and the Secretary of State
What types of petitions are there?
In Oregon, petitions can be used to make laws, reject laws, approve laws, and remove elected officials. Each type of petition has a specific name.
- An initiative petition is when the citizens write and propose a new law. Initiatives allow motivated groups to propose legislation when their elected officials do not. Oregonians can file initiative petitions for either statutory enactments or constitutional amendments. The amount of signatures needed to make the ballot is a percentage of the votes cast for governor in the last governor election. Statutory enactments require 6% of the votes cast for governor; constitutional amendments require 8%.
- Statutory enactment: a state law that started as an initiative petition
- Fun Fact: The Oregon constitution has been amended over 250 times!
- A referendum is a movement by citizens to reject a law. Citizens can start a referendum for any non-emergency law as soon as a bill becomes an act. Bills become eligible for referendum either after the governor signs it or when the deadline has passed for the governor to sign or veto the bill. Referenda require a number of signatures equal to 4% of the votes cast for governor to make it to the ballot.
- A referral is when a legislator asks the citizens to decide on a law. Both houses of the state congress have to vote to send the legislation to the ballot. This type of petition does not require a citizen to be the chief petitioner; the chief petitioners are legislators. Referrals are automatically placed on the ballot.
- Did you know? In Oregon, all constitutional amendments must be referred to the voters
- Petitions can also be used to recall, or remove, an elected official. Voters can only recall an elected official if they’ve been in their position for at least 6 months. Both local and state officials can be recalled. In order to recall a state official, the petition must gather signatures equal to 15% of the votes cast for governor in the elected official’s district.
- To find out more about how the Oregon petition process works, read the Oregon Secretary of State’s page on petitions.
Where do I sign?
Let's get started! There are a few things you should do to sign a petition. Keep these in mind the next time you see a circulator.
- Circulator: a person who informs people and gathers signatures on a petition
- Get information! Circulators are often knowledgeable about the petitions they are circulating for. Let them explain the petition and ask them questions. If it’s an initiative petition, ask where you can see the full text of the proposed legislation.
- Tip: Be respectful to circulators! Most of them are concerned citizens who want you to be involved in your government. Remember that they’re not asking for money, just your opinion.
- Pick a side! Once you have all the information you need, it’s time to decide whether you want to support the petition. You should only sign the petition if you support it, but you can still change your mind later--signing doesn’t mean you have to vote yes if the petition makes it to the ballot.
- Vote! Remember that signing a petition is only half the process. Make sure to look at your ballot for petitions that you signed, and be sure to vote on them.
- Pass it on! Encourage others to sign petitions and vote for laws that you care about. Remind people that this is one of the most direct ways that they can impact their government.
- What next? If you want to get more involved, you can become a circulator!