This is Volume 1 and contains information on the 12 statewide ballot measures, as well as information on registering to vote and obtaining an absentee ballot. Volume 2 will include the list of state candidates, statements submitted by state candidates, political party statements and drop site locations. It will include your county Voters' Pamphlet if your county chooses to produce a Voters' Pamphlet in combination with the state. Volume 2 will be mailed October 16-18.
For each of the 12 statewide measure in this Voters' Pamphlet you will find the following information:
(1) ballot title;
(2) estimate of financial impact;
(3) complete text of the proposed measure;
(4) explanatory statement; and
(5) arguments filed by proponents and opponents of the measure.
The ballot title is drafted by the Attorney General's office. It is then distributed to a list of interested parties for public comment. After review of any comments submitted, the ballot title is certified by the Attorney General's office. The certified ballot title can be appealed and may be changed by the Oregon Supreme Court.
The estimate of financial impact for each measure is prepared by a committee of state officials including the Secretary of State, the State Treasurer, the Director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services and the Director of the Department of Revenue. The committee estimates only the direct impact on state and local governments, based on information presented to the committee.
The explanatory statement is an impartial statement explaining the measure. Each measure's explanatory statement is written by a committee of five members, including two proponents of the measure, two opponents of the measure and a fifth member appointed by the first four committee members, or, if they fail to agree on a fifth member, appointed by the Secretary of State. Explanatory statements can be appealed and may be changed by the Oregon Supreme Court.
Citizens or organizations may file arguments in favor of, or in opposition to, measures by purchasing space for $500 or by submitting a petition signed by 1,000 voters. Arguments in favor of a measure appear first, followed by arguments in opposition to the measure, and are printed in the order in which they are filed with the Secretary of State's office.
Additionally, Measures 14 through 18 were referred to Oregon voters by the 2001 Legislature and you will find a "Legislative Argument in Support" for each of these measures. Oregon law allows the Legislature to submit, at no cost, an argument in support of each measure it refers to the people.
The Voters' Pamphlet has been compiled by the Secretary of State since
1903, when Oregon became one of the first states to provide for the printing
and distribution of such a publication. One copy of the Voters' Pamphlet
is mailed to every household in the state. Additional copies are available
at the State Capitol, local post offices, courthouses and all county election
offices.