Oregon Legislature

Hundreds gather in front of the Capitol for the annual May Day Rally & March, which seeks equality for all.

All ages, colors and species showed up for the May Day Rally and March at the Capitol today, demonstrating their support for the cause of equality for all.

Hundreds gathered in the street in front of the seat of state government, holding signs and wearing T-shirts seeking a spotlight for their cause.

There were groups seeking Driver's Cards for residents and urging them to vote for a referendum on the issue in November, while others sought a solid education for all children. Still other groups worked the crowd into a froth for immigration reform and better worker wage and safety protections.

Tim Stoelb, president of the Oregon School Employees Association, stood in front of a table laden with T-shirts and fliers. He and volunteers were there in support of immigration reform, having sent the membership, and anyone else who would listen, fliers and emails urging them to attend the rally and march.

"The issue is important to us because what's going on now is splitting families, which then has a significant impact on children and their ability to learn," Stoelb said. "It's hard for children to focus on their education when they are suffering the emotional trauma of having family members taken from them."

Stoelb said it's time for communities to understand that this an issue that affects more than people of color.

"One child's suffering hurts the entire class because it takes the teacher's time and attention away from the rest of the students," Stoelb said. "Children are impacted through no fault of their own. We want to reclaim the promise of education to help all children succeed."

There were plenty of children with their parents and other adults at the rally. There also were plenty of leashed dogs enjoying the sunshine and constant petting. Children clung to pant legs, scampered across the Capitol steps, and inched curiously toward an incense burner displayed in front of the Titlakawan group. The Aztecs, in full regalia, danced and played drums to lend their support to the idea of equality for all.

The polite crowd used crosswalks, and waved their protest signs in front of Oregon passing motorists until city of Salem public works staff and the Mobile Response Team -- Salem police officers on bicycles -- closed off Court Street NE in front of the Capitol. Also on hand to help with crowd control were Salem Police Department motorcycle officers.

Amid the frenzied crowd, there was much cheering while volunteer signature gathers seized the opportunity to register folks to vote. The Aztec drum group kept a steady beat.

The weather, which in years past has not cooperated, was textbook perfect with plenty of sunshine and a cool breeze. The crowd continued to swell approaching the noon hour, and the start of the march.
  Read more about Capitol May Day rally draws a crowd

The Oregon Supreme Court has certified a ballot title for the driver card referendum on the November ballot that includes a controversial reference to "legal presence."

The title will read: Provides Oregon resident "driver card" without requiring proof of legal presence in the United States.

...The titles are sometimes the only thing voters will read about a measure...

Supporters unsuccessfully pursued a legislative rewrite of the ballot title...

In its April 1 decision, the Oregon Supreme Court certified the ballot title written by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.

  Read more about Driver card referendum: Oregon Supreme Court rules on ballot title fight

Despite attempts by various parties to change a ballot initiative’s title and alter its summary for voters, the state Supreme Court last week ordered that Referendum 301 be upheld as certified in 2013 by the Secretary of State’s office and named by state attorney general.

Last October, the groups Oregonians for Immigration Reform and Protect Oregon Driver Licenses, submitted almost 60,000 signatures to overturn legislation, Senate Bill 833, that had been passed by lawmakers and signed by Gov. John Kitzhaber earlier in 2013.

The groups opposed the bi-partisan backed bill, which would have allowed the state to issue driver-privilege cards to individuals without DMV-required documentations such as a birth certificate or passport. The groups worked throughout last summer collecting signatures, offering drive-through petition signature-gathering events and staffing booths at the Oregon State Fair.

Jim Ludwick, a spokesman for both groups, said they were delighted the state’s highest court upheld the second title issued by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. The groups thought the first one issued by the AG’s office wasn’t descriptive enough, and asked for a rewrite. They were satisfied with the second one issued, and were opposed to late-session efforts by the Legislature to use its authority to rewrite the revised title.

“There were a few issues we had with the summary of the ballot measure that we would have liked to see changed that didn’t happen,” Ludwick said. “But we’re pleased that the court’s order means the title in no longer in peril.”

Petitioners to uphold the ballot title included Republican lawmakers Kim Thatcher and Sal Esquivel, while petitioners to overturn it included Rebecca Straus of the Oregon chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, said he was pleased with the court’s order, and said the Legislature should never have attempted to tamper with the citizen initiative process in the first place.

“It’s the only way people can come forth and say they ‘disagree with us.’ That’s what the process is, and it was just wrong to try and change it,” Esquivel said.

Referendum 301 remains titled “Provides Oregon resident “driver card” without requiring proof of legal presence in the United States, and will appear on ballots for the November election.
  Read more about Oregon Supreme Court orders ballot title on drivers card to stand

The state of Illinois issued 14,000 temporary drivers licenses to undocumented foreigners in two months, which, if that rate of demand is maintained, could double the number of licenses expected to be handed out during the first year of the law that allowed it...

"The numbers are impressive. We've attended to 24,000 people and granted 14,000 licenses, most of them at the 23 offices operating in Chicago and its metropolitan area," he said...

...authorities are concerned with the high percentage of rejections due to lack of documentation, of people who have unresolved cases for traffic offenses or who have driven with false licenses...

When the law was approved in January 2013, it was calculated that there were some 250,000 people driving without licenses in Illinois, of whom 90 percent were of Mexican origin.

However, the Office of the Secretary of State prepared itself to attend to some 500,000 people who could request the document...

  Read more about Illinois issues 14,000 drivers licenses to undocumented foreigners in 2 mo.