Chapter 1.10
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
Sections:
1.10.010 Chapter provides complete procedure.
1.10.020 Qualifications for signers of petition.
1.10.040 Referendum petition form.
1.10.050 Procedure prior to circulation of petition.
1.10.060 Sheets for signatures.
1.10.070 Verification of signatures.
1.10.080 Certification of signature.
1.10.100 Requisite number of signatures and computation.
1.10.110 Acceptance and filing of petitions.
1.10.120 Procedure upon filing of initiative petition.
1.10.130 Time for referring proposal by petition.
1.10.140 Submission of proposal by council.
1.10.150 Ordinance or resolution ordering special election.
1.10.170 Requisite of ballot title.
1.10.180 Notice of election and advertising proposal.
1.10.200 Canvassing returns – Proclamation of results and filing with proposal.
1.10.220 Exceptions to chapter.
1.10.010 Chapter provides complete procedure.
This chapter provides a complete procedure for the legal voters of the city of Junction City, Oregon, to exercise the initiative and referendum powers reserved to the people of the city of Junction City, Oregon, by the constitution of the state of Oregon. [Ord. 365 § 1, 1959.]
1.10.020 Qualifications for signers of petition.
A. Any legal voter of the city of Junction City, Lane County, Oregon, may sign a petition for the referendum or for the initiative for any proposal which he is entitled to vote upon.
B. No person shall sign any name other than his own to any petition or knowingly sign his name more than once for the same proposal at one election; nor shall anyone sign who is not, at the time of signing, a legal voter of the city of Junction City, Lane County, Oregon. [Ord. 365 § 2, 1959.]
1.10.030 Initiative petition.
The following shall be substantially the form of petition for any measure, question, ordinance, new charter or amendment to the charter of the city of Junction City, Oregon, proposed by the initiative.
WARNING
It is an offense for anyone to sign any initiative or referendum petition with any name other than his own or to knowingly sign his name more than once for the same proposal or to sign such petition when he is not a legal voter of the city of Junction City, Oregon.
INITIATIVE PETITION
To ___________, recorder of the city of Junction City, Oregon:
We, the undersigned citizens and legal voters of the city of Junction City, Lane County, Oregon, respectfully demand that the following measure, proposed ordinance or amendment to the charter of the city of Junction City, Oregon (as the case may be), shall be submitted to the legal voters of the city of Junction City, Lane County, Oregon, for their approval or rejection at the regular general election (or special city election) to be held on the ___ day of ________, 20___, and each for himself says: I have personally signed this petition;
I am a legal voter of the city of Junction City, Oregon; my residence, street and number are correctly written after my name.
Name Residence Street and number
(Here follow 20 numbered lines for signatures)
[Ord. 365 § 3, 1959.]
1.10.040 Referendum petition form.
The following shall be substantially the form of petition for referendum to the people of the city of Junction City, Oregon, on any ordinance or part of any ordinance passed by the council of the city of Junction City, Oregon.
WARNING
It is an offense for anyone to sign any initiative or referendum petition with any name other than his own or to knowingly sign his name more than once for the same proposal or to sign such petition when he is not a legal voter of the city of Junction City, Oregon.
REFERENDUM PETITION
To ___________, city recorder of the city of Junction City, Oregon:
We, the undersigned citizens and legal voters of the city of Junction City, Lane County, Oregon, respectfully demand that ordinance No. ____ entitled (the title of the ordinance, or part of an ordinance, on which referendum is sought), passed by the council of the city of Junction City, Oregon, at its meeting on the ___ day of ________, 20____ shall be referred to the legal voters of the city of Junction City, Oregon, for their approval or rejection, at the regular general election (or special city election) to be held on the ___ day of _____, 20____, and each for himself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a legal voter of the city of Junction City, Lane County, Oregon; my residence, street and number are correctly written after my name.
Name Residence Street and number
(Here follow 20 numbered lines for signatures)
[Ord. 365 § 4, 1959.]
1.10.050 Procedure prior to circulation of petition.
A. No petition shall be deemed fully prepared unless prior to its circulation three copies of it are deposited at the office of the recorder and as circulated it complies with the specifications listed below which he makes concerning it and contains the ballot title, either that prepared initially or that approved or prescribed on appeal, required by this chapter for the measure for which it is being circulated.
B. When a copy of a petition to be circulated is deposited at the office of the recorder he shall immediately check it for the legal sufficiency of the form in which it appears; advise the person depositing it whether it is legally sufficient in form and, if it is not so, how to make it so; specify the mode of writing the petition and size and kind of paper on which to write it; and transmit two copies to the city attorney who shall provide a ballot title for the proposal as hereinafter provided. [Ord. 365 § 5, 1959.]
1.10.060 Sheets for signatures.
A full and correct copy of the title and text of the measure demanded for submission by the initiative or referendum petition, as the case may be, shall be attached to each sheet circulated for signature, and such full and correct copy of the title and text shall be shown to the voter before his signature is attached. Not more than 20 signatures on any one page of either a petition for referendum or initiative shall be counted. [Ord. 365 § 6, 1959.]
1.10.070 Verification of signatures.
Each and every sheet of each petition for either initiative or referendum containing signatures shall be verified on the face thereof, by the person who circulated the sheet, by his affidavit in substantially the following form:
STATE OF OREGON )
County of Lane ) ss.
City of Junction City )
I, _____________, being first sworn, say:
Every person who signed this sheet of the foregoing petition signed his name to it in my presence. I believe that each has stated his name, residence, street and number correctly and that each signer is a legal voter of the city of Junction City, Lane County, Oregon.
_____________________________
(Signature, residence, street
and number of affiant)
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ___ day of ________, A.D., 20___.
_____________________________
(Signature and title of officer
before whom oath is made and
his post office address)
[Ord. 365 § 7, 1959.]
1.10.080 Certification of signature.
A. Certification by Recorder. Within five days after a duly prepared, signed petition is deposited at his office, the recorder shall:
1. Compare the signatures on it with the signatures on the registration records in the office of the county clerk of Lane County, Oregon; and
2. Attach to the petition a certificate in the following form:
STATE OF OREGON )
County of Lane ) ss.
City of Junction City )
I, __________, recorder of the city of Junction City, Oregon, certify that I have compared the signatures on the attached petition with the signatures of the electors as they appear on the registration records in the office of the county clerk of Lane County, Oregon, and on the basis of these records I hereby certify that the signatures of the following person, namely:
__________________ __________________
__________________ __________________ in the number of ____, are genuine.
As to the remainder of signatures, I believe they are not genuine, because they do not appear on the registration records in the office of the county clerk of Lane County, Oregon.
__________________ __________________
__________________ __________________
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the city of Junction City, Oregon, this ____ day of ___________, 20___.
____________________________
Recorder of the city of
Junction City, Oregon
B. Signatures to Be Counted and Certification by Notary. The city recorder shall consider and count only the signatures on the petition that are certified by him to be genuine. However, the city recorder shall consider and count the remaining signatures that are proved to be the genuine signatures of legal voters. To establish this, the official certificate of a notary public residing in the city of Junction City, Lane County, Oregon, shall be required as to the facts for each of the last named signatures. Such certificate shall be deposited with the city recorder within three days following the date of the recorder’s certification. Such certificate of notary public resident in the city of Junction City, Oregon, shall be in the following form:
STATE OF OREGON )
County of Lane ) ss.
City of Junction City )
I, ____________, a qualified and acting notary public in and for the above county and state and a notary public resident in the city of Junction City, Oregon, do hereby certify: that I am personally acquainted with each of the following named electors whose signatures are affixed to the annexed petition and that I know of my own knowledge that they are legal voters of the state of Oregon and the county of Lane and the city of Junction City written after their names in the annexed petition and that the residence and street and number of each one is correctly stated therein, and that the signature of each is a genuine signature, and that the names of such electors are as follows:
__________________ __________________
__________________ __________________
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and official seal this ____ day of _______, 20___.
____________________
Notary Public for the State of
Oregon Residing in the city of
Junction City, Oregon.
My Commission expires: _______________.
C. Signatures to Be Counted. In determining whether a petition contains the number of signatures requisite to its being duly prepared, the recorder shall count, except signatures forbidden by this chapter to be counted, all signatures on the petition which either he or a notary public resident of the city of Junction City certifies to be genuine.
D. Any certificate provided by this section shall be prima facie evidence of the facts as stated in it and of the qualifications of the electors whose signatures are thus certified to be genuine. [Ord. 365 § 8, 1959.]
1.10.090 Variances of form.
The forms provided for in this chapter are not mandatory and if substantially followed in any petition, it shall be sufficient, disregarding clerical and merely technical errors. [Ord. 365 § 9, 1959.]
1.10.100 Requisite number of signatures and computation.
A. Requisite Number. The number of signatures on a petition requisite to it being deemed duly prepared shall be for an initiative petition 15 percent, and for a referendum petition 10 percent, of the number of votes cast for the office of councilman at the councilmanic election last preceding the deposit of the petition at the office of the recorder after its circulation.
B. Basis for Computation. The number of votes cast for the office of councilman at an election shall be computed by adding together the votes cast at the election for the various candidates for the offices of councilman and dividing the sum thus obtained by the number of offices of councilman to be filled at that election. [Ord. 365 § 10, 1959.]
1.10.110 Acceptance and filing of petitions.
The recorder of the city of Junction City, Oregon, shall accept for filing any petition for the initiative or for the referendum, subject to the verification of the number and genuineness of the signatures and voting qualifications of the persons signing the same by reference to the registration records in the office of the county clerk of the county of Lane, Oregon, and if a sufficient number of qualified voters be found to have signed said petition, he shall file the same within 10 days after presentation thereof to him. [Ord. 365 § 11, 1959.]
1.10.120 Procedure upon filing of initiative petition.
If any measure, question, ordinance, new charter or amendment to the charter of the city of Junction City, Oregon, is proposed by initiative petition, the petition shall be deposited with the city recorder and he shall transmit it to the next session of the council of the city of Junction City next following the date said petitions have been certified as hereinbefore provided. The council shall act upon the measure, question, ordinance, new charter or amendment within 30 days. If the council rejects it or takes no action on it, the city recorder shall submit the petition proposal to the voters of the city at the next election held not less than 90 days after it was first presented to the city council. The council may ordain the ordinance or amendment and refer it to the people, or it may ordain such ordinance without referring it to the people. If the ordinance is ordained without referring it to the people, it shall be subject to referendum petition in like manner as other ordinances. If the council rejects the ordinance or amendment or takes no action on it, it may ordain a competing ordinance or amendment, which shall be submitted by the city recorder to the people of the city of Junction City, Oregon, at the same election at which the initiative proposal is submitted and ordained within the 30 days allowed for its action on the proposal submitted by the initiative petition. The mayor shall not have power to veto either of such proposals. [Ord. 365 § 12, 1959.]
1.10.130 Time for referring proposal by petition.
Where the referendum petitions shall be signed by the required number of legal voters against any ordinance or part of an ordinance passed by the council, the same shall be filed with the city recorder within 30 days after the passage and approval of the ordinance or part of ordinance in question. [Ord. 365 § 13, 1959.]
1.10.140 Submission of proposal by council.
Any measure, question, ordinance, new charter or amendment to the charter of the city of Junction City, Oregon, may be proposed and submitted to the legal voters of the city of Junction City, Oregon, by the council of the city of Junction City, Oregon, without an initiative petition, by ordinance or resolution of the council. Said ordinance or resolution shall be filed with the recorder of the city of Junction City, Oregon, for submission not less than 30 days before the election at which it is to be voted upon. No new charter or amendment to the charter of the city of Junction City, Oregon, shall be effective until it is approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon by the legal voters of the city of Junction City, Oregon, at such election. [Ord. 365 § 14, 1959.]
1.10.150 Ordinance or resolution ordering special election.
Upon the filing with the city recorder of any measure, question, ordinance, new charter or amendment to the charter of the city of Junction City, Oregon, either as proposed and submitted by resolution or ordinance of the council or as filed by an initiative petition, or upon the filing of a referendum petition ordering the referendum of an ordinance, or part of an ordinance, the council of the city of Junction City, Oregon, may by ordinance or resolution order a special election for the purpose of submitting the measure, question, ordinance, part of an ordinance, new charter or charter amendment to the legal voters.
Said ordinance or resolution ordering such special election shall state therein the date of the special election at which such proposal or combination of proposals will be submitted to the legal voters of the city of Junction City, Oregon, for their approval or rejection and to be voted upon. Said ordinance or resolution calling the special election shall also provide the manner in which such election shall be conducted, the polling place or places, the judge or judges and the clerk or clerks of election, and other matters relating to the conduct and holding of the said special election. If such special election is held concurrently with any general, state and county election, said ordinance or resolution shall so recite that such is being held concurrently with the general, state and county election and shall also provide that the judges and clerks for such state and county election held within the city of Junction City, Oregon, at the same time shall be the judges and clerks of said special city election held at the same time and at the same place and that the precincts and polling places for said special city election, in the event that it is held concurrently with the primary nominating or general election, shall be the same as for the primary nominating or general election. [Ord. 365 § 15, 1959.]
1.10.160 Preparation of ballot title – Form and use of ballot title – Procedure for persons dissatisfied with ballot title prepared by city attorney.
A. When a copy of a petition for any proposal to be referred to the legal voters of the city of Junction City, Oregon, either by the initiative or referendum, is deposited with the city recorder, as provided herein, or when the submission to the legal voters of the city of Junction City, Oregon, of any measure, question, ordinance, part of any ordinance, new charter or amendment to the charter of the city of Junction City, Oregon, is ordered by the council of the city of Junction City, Oregon, the city recorder shall immediately transmit two copies thereof to the city attorney.
B. Within five days after receiving said copies, the city attorney shall provide a ballot title for the proposal and return one copy of the petition to the city recorder, together with the ballot title so prepared by him.
C. In writing the ballot title, the city attorney shall, to the best of his ability, give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the proposal and in such language that the same shall not be intentionally an argument or likely to create prejudice either for or against the proposal.
D. A copy of the ballot title shall be furnished by the city recorder with his approved form of any initiative or referendum petition, to the persons or organizations under whose authority the proposal is initiated or referred.
E. The ballot title shall be printed with the number of the proposal on the official ballot.
F. Any person who is dissatisfied with the ballot title provided by the city attorney may appeal to the council of the city of Junction City, Oregon, by a written appeal filed with the recorder of the city of Junction City, Oregon, praying for a different ballot title for the proposal and setting forth the reason why the title is insufficient or unfair. No appeal shall be allowed from the decision of the city attorney on a ballot title unless it is taken within five days after the ballot title is filed with the city recorder. Within three days after filing of the appeal at the office of the recorder, the council shall afford the appealing party a hearing and either shall approve by resolution the title or shall prescribe by resolution another ballot title for the proposal. The title thus adopted or approved shall be the ballot title for the proposal. The decision of the council shall be certified to the city recorder and the city recorder shall print on the official ballot the title thus certified to him. A copy of every such ballot title shall be served by the recorder by mail upon the person offering or filing an initiative or referendum petition or appeal. [Ord. 365 § 16, 1959.]
1.10.170 Requisite of ballot title.
A. Parts. The ballot title for a proposal shall consist of a caption designated the short title, followed by an abbreviated statement designated the long title.
B. Short Title. The short title shall be the caption of the ballot and it shall be the title by which the proposal is commonly referred to or spoken of and shall contain not more than 10 words.
C. Long Title. The long title shall be an abbreviated statement not exceeding 100 words in length, setting forth the chief purpose of the proposal.
D. Numbering of Ballot Title. The city recorder of the city of Junction City, Oregon, shall number such proposals and the ballot title shall be printed on the official ballot. The first proposal shall be numbered 51 in numerals. The succeeding proposals shall be numbered consecutively 52, 53, 54, and so on, at each election.
E. It shall be the duty of the recorder to print said ballot title and numerals upon the official ballot.
F. Proposals referred to the voters by petition shall be designated “Referendum Ordered by Petition of the People.” Proposals submitted by the initiative petition shall be designated “Proposed by Initiative Petition.” Any measure, question, ordinance, new charter or amendment of the charter of the city of Junction City, Oregon, submitted by the council of the city of Junction City, Oregon, without initiative petition or referendum petition, shall be designated “Measures, Questions, Ordinances, New Charters or Charter Amendments Submitted to the Legal Voters by the Council” as the case may be.
G. When any measure, question, ordinance, new charter or amendment to the charter of the city of Junction City, Oregon, is to be submitted to the legal voters by resolution or ordinance of the council as in this chapter provided, the council may in said resolution or ordinance provide for a ballot title for the proposal so to be submitted, and in the event of such provision being made by the council, the hereinabove provisions of this section and of JCMC 1.10.160 relative to the submission of the proposal to the city attorney, the preparation by the city attorney of a ballot title therefor, and the appeal to the council from the ballot title so prepared shall not apply. [Ord. 365 § 17, 1959.]
1.10.180 Notice of election and advertising proposal.
A. Publishing and Posting. An initiative or referendum election is a special election. The city recorder shall give not less than 10 days’ notice of each special election and the proposals, if any, to be submitted, such notice shall name the polling place or places and the hours of opening and closing of the polls, which election notice shall be posted in five conspicuous and public places within the city of Junction City, Oregon, and also by publishing said notice and proposal, if any, in a newspaper published in the city of Junction City, Oregon, for not less than two issues thereof, within 20 days immediately preceding such election, the first publication of such notice to be more than 10 days prior to such election. It shall not be necessary to include the full text of any proposal in such election notice, but only the ballot title of such proposal, and a statement that the full measure is open for examination at the office of the recorder.
B. No Other Form of Notice Shall Be Required. It shall not be necessary in connection with any election herein mentioned or for which provision is made by this chapter or which is called pursuant to the provisions of this chapter to prepare or distribute any voters’ pamphlets or to distribute to the voters any copies of the proposed measure, question, ordinance, part of an ordinance, new charter, or amendment to the charter of the city of Junction City, Oregon, or to give any other form or kind of notice. [Ord. 365 § 18, 1959.]
1.10.190 Voting and number of votes necessary to adopt proposal – Conflict between proposals adopted.
The manner of voting upon proposals submitted to the people shall be the same as is now or may be required by the city charter and ordinances. No proposal shall be adopted unless it received an affirmative majority of the total number of votes cast on the proposal and entitled to be counted, under the provisions of this chapter. If two or more conflicting ordinances are approved at the same election, the ordinance receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall be paramount in all particulars as to which there is conflict, even though such ordinance may not have received the greatest majority of affirmative votes. If two or more conflicting amendments to the charter of the city of Junction City, Oregon, are approved at the same election, the amendment receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall be paramount in all particulars as to which there is a conflict, even though such amendment may not have received the greatest majority of affirmative votes. [Ord. 365 § 19, 1959.]
1.10.200 Canvassing returns – Proclamation of results and filing with proposal.
A. The votes on any measure, question, ordinance, part of an ordinance, new charter or amendment to the charter of the city of Junction City, Oregon, shall be returned, counted and canvassed the same as is now or may be required by the city charter and ordinances. Immediately upon the completion of the canvass of the votes on the proposals submitted to the voters pursuant to this chapter, the mayor shall issue a proclamation:
1. Recapitulating the vote on the proposal;
2. Declaring whether the vote shows a majority of those who voted on the proposal to be in favor of it; and
3. In case the vote shows the majority of them to be in favor of the proposal, announcing it to be effective from the date of the vote.
B. Publication or Posting. The recorder shall give public notice of the proclamation by:
1. Publishing it once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city; or
2. Posting copies of it in five public places within the city, including the City Hall.
C. Filing with Proposal. The proclamation shall be filed with the proposal. [Ord. 365 § 20, 1959.]
1.10.210 Penalty clause.
Any officer or person who shall willfully violate any provision of this chapter shall upon conviction thereof by the municipal court of the city of Junction City, Oregon, be punished by a fine of not more than $100.00 or by imprisonment in the city jail for not more than 30 days or by both such fine and imprisonment. [Ord. 365 § 23, 1959.]
1.10.220 Exceptions to chapter.
For any city election which is based on the initiative or referendum provisions of the Oregon Constitution, or is submitted to the city’s legal voters by the council under this chapter, selected by the council to be held on a date designated by Oregon law as a date for special district elections and which date is other than a primary or general election date, the provisions of Oregon law concerning the matters relating to the conduct of special district elections shall be followed, rather than the provisions of this chapter. [Ord. 703 § 1, 1977; Ord. 365 § 25, 1959.]