‘Move Oregon’s Border’ effort sues in bid to reduce signature requirement
LA PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Move Oregon’s Border for a Greater Idaho announced Monday that their president has filed a federal lawsuit, in light of the COVID-19 situation, seeking a reduction in the number of signatures required to get their initiatives on the ballots in rural Oregon counties.
The ballot initiatives are related to moving the Oregon/Idaho border to make rural Oregon a part of Idaho.
The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court June 30, followed by a motion for a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction. A hearing is scheduled for next Monday. The deadline for signatures for county measures this year is August 5.
Their case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Michael McShane in Eugene, who recently granted relief to a group called People Not Politicians in a case that is similar, except that it regards a statewide ballot initiative.
Judge McShane granted the request of People Not Politicians that their deadline be delayed from July 2 to August 17, and the number of valid signatures required statewide be reduced from nearly 150,000 to 59,000. People Not Politicians had requested this signature number, as they reported that they already have over 64,000 signatures.
In some counties, Move Oregon’s Border for a Greater Idaho has not made as much progress as People Not Politicians toward their signature requirements, the group said.
It’s unclear how much more relief Judge McShane would be willing to give to Move Oregon’s Border for a Greater Idaho. They said their progress in signature collection varies widely from one county to the next.
A U.S. District Judge in Illinois granted an injunction that reduced the required number of signatures in Illinois down to 10% of the original number, and the state’s request for a stay of this injunction was denied by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on June 21. However, most judges have not reduced the number of signatures required that much.
Mike McCarter of La Pine, president of Move Oregon’s Border said, “I encourage everyone to download a petition from www.GreaterIdaho.org and collect signatures even in the counties that have fallen behind schedule, because there is a good chance that the required number could be reduced drastically. Stand in a place with a lot of foot traffic, and ask people if they feel that the governor’s doing a perfect job. If they say no, then ask if they would like to sign a petition that solves that problem permanently. Inform them that combining all taxes together, the average Idahoan paid $1753 less in taxes per year than the average Oregonian in 2018. And cost of living is 39% higher in Oregon than in Idaho.”
