state legislation

Members of the group Oregonians for Immigration Reform were quietly celebrating Friday after learning that the Oregon Secretary of State’s office had officially qualified Referendum No. 301 for the November 2014 ballot.

The OFIR group believes residents, not lawmakers, should decide whether the state should issue driver-privilege cards to individuals without required documentation such as a U.S. birth certificate or U.S. passport.

Gov. John Kitzhaber signed Senate Bill 833 into law in May after a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and interested parties joined forces to create safer roads. The bill authorized the issuance of driver-privilege cards beginning in January, but the referendum’s qualification means the new law won’t go into effect as planned.

Cynthia Kendoll, president of OFIR, said she was pleased with the outcome of the process. She said volunteers had only a few months to gather signatures, and worked diligently to ensure that the people of Oregon would have a say on what OFIR believes is de facto immigration policy.

The group turned in 71,000 signatures gathered throughout the summer during drive-through efforts and at places such as the Capitol building steps, the state fair and Center 50+.

“We are delighted,” Kendoll said. “We really turned in the valedictorian of signature-gathering efforts. We passed with the first sample, which is terrific. It was so clean – they didn’t find any duplicate signatures in the sample.”

Summer Davis, compliance specialist with the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s office, and Tony Green, a spokesman for Secretary of State Kate Brown, confirmed that many ballot measures that go on to qualify for the ballot often don’t succeed on the first sample, which contains 1,000 signatures.

Jeff Stone, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, which was part of the coalition that helped pass SB-833, said the qualification wasn’t exactly a surprise.

He predicted that the faith communities, law enforcement agencies and farming communities that worked together with lawmakers in a bipartisan fashion to pass this year’s bill, would rally to help pass the referendum. As No. 301 is written, if residents vote “yes” on the referendum, the law created by SB-833 will go into effect 30 days after the election next year. If voters reject the referendum, driver privilege cards will not be issued in Oregon.

“My hope is that these groups will provide volunteers and thoughtful leaders who offer rational conversation, and that they will help put together a good communications plan to help Oregon make a sensible decision and see this referendum for what it is,” Stone said. “I do know the nursery and greenhouse industries will vigorously defend this good piece (SB-833) of public-safety legislation.”
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Voters will weigh in next year on a bill granting “driver’s cards” to Oregonians unable to prove they are in the U.S. legally.

The Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 833 earlier this year, but opponents, led by Oregonians for Immigration Reform and Protect Oregon Driver Licenses, vowed to refer it to the ballot, hoping voters would overturn the law.

Read more about the successful SB 833 referendum petition campaign.
  Read more about Oregon driver card bill headed to the November 2014 ballot

State Rep. Sal Esquivel said he expects voters will get a chance to determine if a new law should allow illegal immigrants to have driver's licenses.

Esquivel, a member of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, co-sponsored a referendum for the November 2014 ballot that seeks to overturn a law authorizing driver-privilege cards for non-legal residents.

"I think the people of Oregon should weigh in on it because they will be driving around with those people," said Esquivel, R-Medford.

Critics of the new law, which was set to go into effect in January, submitted 71,000 signatures to the Secretary of State's office this week in hopes of putting the issue to a vote in November of 2014.

Esquivel disputed the argument that the law will make the highways safer because illegal immigrants will follow through on the requirement to get auto insurance along with a driver's license.

"You break the law to come here," he said. "Why do you think they would follow the law and get insurance?"

The Secretary of State's Election Office will scrutinize the petitions submitted by the group Oregonians for Immigration Reform and the paid private firm Signature Gathering Company of Oregon.

The OFIR group was required to submit 58,142 valid signatures to qualify its referendum for the November 2014 ballot. Group members say voters should have the final say on whether the state issues driver's cards to people who cannot produce documents proving they are U.S. citizens.

If the petitioners succeed in getting on the November 2014 ballot, the law would not take effect in January.

Monitors from both OFIR and immigrants' rights groups such as CAUSA Oregon will be on hand to witness the elections staff as they review the signatures.

Supporters of the driver's privilege law say they don't see the law as an immigration issue, but believe it makes the roads safer for all Oregonians.

Ron Louis, a 33-year veteran of law enforcement and retired chief of police in Hillsboro, told the Salem Statesman-Journal that he views the cards as a matter of public safety and points to their success in other states such as Maryland, New Mexico, Utah and Washington as evidence.

"It just allows anyone without the typical documentation to drive and get insurance. And it puts them through a testing process that hopefully makes them safer driver," Louis said. "It ensures that they minimally understand rules and road signs, and I'd much rather have every driver alongside me have this education."

But others say the decision to grant driver's cards to individuals is closely related to immigration concerns.

Lake Oswego resident Colleen Hill said in the same Statesman-Journal story that it was "very disturbing that the governor was validating illegal behavior" and said the decision would give illegal immigrants "documentation to citizenship."

Gov. John Kitzhaber signed Senate Bill 833, creating the driver's card option, into law in May.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or dmann@mailtribune.com.

  Read more about Petition effort may stall immigrant driving law

For a litany of volunteers, this was a week of hopes realized and hopes dashed.

On Monday, the Secretary of State’s Election Office began scrutinizing referendum petitions submitted by the group Oregonians for Immigration Reform and the paid private firm Signature Gathering Company of Oregon.

The OFIR group hopes to have collected 58,142 valid signatures to qualify Referendum No. 301 for the November 2014 ballot. It believes residents, not lawmakers, should decide whether the state should issue driver-privilege cards to individuals without DMV-required documentation, such as a birth certificate or passport. Gov. John Kitzhaber signed Senate Bill 833 in May, which authorizes the issuance of driver’s-privilege cards beginning in January.

OFIR had volunteers witness the elections staff as it started the certification process. The elections office accepted the petitions Oct. 4 and has 30 days to determine whether a representative sample validates the referendum for next year’s ballot. It is too early to know if the group has enough valid signatures, but its president, Cynthia Kendoll, believes it does because more than half of the petitions are “e-sheets,” or single-signature pages printed out by the voter, signed and then mailed back to the group.

Volunteers from other groups such as CAUSA Oregon and the Oregon Safe Roads Coalition also observed the election office staff at work. These groups had individuals on hand to ensure that the signature-vetting process was handled correctly because they hope the petition for the referendum fails to qualify for the ballot.

They had previously welcomed the governor’s signature on SB 833.

Many of these individuals don’t see the issue as a de facto immigration policy, but believe it makes the roads safer for all Oregonians.

Ron Louis, a 33-year veteran of law enforcement and retired chief of police in Hillsboro, doesn’t want to wade into the immigration debate. He doesn’t believe the driver-privilege card is an inroad to granting anyone in the country illegally the rights afforded U.S. citizens. He views the cards as a matter of public safety, and he points to their success in other states such as Maryland, New Mexico, Utah and Washington as validation for his point of view.

“It just allows anyone without the typical documentation to drive and get insurance. And it puts them through a testing process that hopefully makes them safer driver,” Louis said. “It ensures that they minimally understand rules and road signs, and I’d much rather have every driver alongside me have this education.”

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Volunteers and others supporting Oregonians for Immigration Reform tried to pile seven boxes laden with signed petitions onto a hand-truck Thursday and then gave up.

They could only get four on the handled dolly, so they grabbed the remaining three boxes and headed for the fifth floor of the Oregon Public Services building because they weren’t going to give up on their mission – delivering 60,000 signatures to the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s office one day before the deadline.

The heavy lifters included the group’s president, Cynthia Kendoll and her husband, Jerry, volunteer Jim Ludwick, Lee Vasche of the Signature Gathering Company of Oregon and Oregon Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford. Their delivery, they said, was the first of two. The group expects to deliver another 10,000 to 12,000 signed petitions today, about 60 minutes before the elections division closes.

The OIR goal, Kendoll said, is to overturn a new Oregon law granting driver-privilege cards to residents without documentation. If the group does not have enough valid signatures to qualify Referendum No. 301 for the November 2014 ballot, the new law will go into effect in January.

Kendoll estimates the group will have more than 70,000 signatures to ensure it meets the state’s 58,142 valid-signature requirement. As the group exited the building, additional volunteers were still offering clipboards with petitions to passers-by on the steps of the state Capitol.

Motivating them is Oregon Senate Bill 833, which Gov. John Kitzhaber signed into law in May in front of thousands of supporters at the Capitol. The bill authorizes driver’s cards for those lacking documents to obtain a regular driver’s license. Kitzhaber said at the time that SB 833 ensured that thousands of Oregonians could drive to and from work, school, church and errands.

OIR contends, however, that the law gives driver privilege cards to people who are in the country illegally. It wants voters to decide the issue, not lawmakers.

Cynthia Kendoll said she’s confident the group will qualify the measure for the ballot. The group has had four months to collect the signatures, and used a combination of paid signature gatherers and volunteers. She’s optimistic, she said, because the group has had requests for referendum sheets from 134 Oregon cities and communities, and more than half of the petitions are what she calls “single-signer sheets”

“That means that people are going to their own computers and printing off a petition from our website, signing it and then mailing it to us,” Cynthia Kendoll said. “These carry a high validity rate.”

Summer Davis, a compliance specialist with the SOS elections division, confirmed that e-sheets, as they’re officially called, have a higher validity rate.

“Think about it: when people print out a petition, they then give it to someone they know, there is no stranger coming at them asking them to sign something. It’s true they tend to be valid more often,” Davis said.

After getting a “letter of receipt” from the elections division, the group watched as a worker locked the boxes in a cage. They were told the others will be added to the cage when they’re received, and then the elections department will have 30 days to certify the petitions. If the group meets the 58,142 signature threshold, the law will not go into effect as planned.

The certification will begin between 1 and 1:30 p.m. Monday in the building’s basement. Observers are welcome with advance notice, the group was told, to which Cynthia promptly asked, “Can I ask to attend now?”
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