Its investigation into complaint alleging voters were misled into signing a petition to get the anti-sanctuary measure on the ballot found insufficient evidence
The Oregon Department of Justice said Wednesday it has insufficient evidence to move forward with the criminal prosecution of signature gatherers accused of lying to students at Portland State University in order to obtain signatures to put a controversial initiative on the ballot.
The initiative, which will give Oregon voters the option to repeal Oregon’s 30-year-old sanctuary status limiting local law enforcement’s ability to use resources to enforce federal immigration laws, is now headed for the November ballot as Measure 105.
Street Roots first reported on complaints alleging signature gatherers working for Ballot Access LLC were lying to Portland-area voters to get signatures in February.
That’s when an incident at Portland State University prompted student Robin Fisher to file a formal complaint with the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office. This complaint was referred to the Oregon Department of Justice for a criminal investigation.
Fisher told Street Roots a man working for Ballot Access LLC explained he was collecting signatures for “a ballot initiative to protect the sanctuary-state status of Oregon and stop Donald Trump from making decisions for Oregonians.”
A video recording showing that the signature gatherer seemed to be misinformed about what the measure would do was deemed inadmissible because Fisher made the recording without the signature gatherer’s knowledge.
According to a letter sent to the Secretary of State’s Office from the Department of Justice, witnesses interviewed during the course of the investigation into Fisher’s complaint gave “differing versions of the circulators’ statements.”
The complaint has been referred back to the Secretary of State’s Office, which could pursue the complaint as a civil matter.
Fisher’s was not the only formal complaint filed that related to signature gatherers working on the anti-sanctuary measure for Ballot Access LLC.
While several other similar complaints were filed with the Secretary of State's Office in relation to the anti-sanctuary status initiative, none are under criminal investigation with the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice is, however, investigating a complaint related to signature gatherers for the same company who collected signatures for Measure 104, which will give voters the option to require a three-fifths majority vote to pass legislation that increases state revenue through changes to taxes.
Voters who signed petitions in various areas around Portland told Street Roots they felt they’d been misled into signing the petition for the initiative to repeal the state’s sanctuary status, with many saying they support Oregon’s sanctuary status and would never have signed the petition if they knew what it could actually do.
In Oregon, making false statements to anyone who signs a petition or makes requests of information about it can result in a felony conviction and fines of up to $125,000.
According to the justice department, to prove a violation of that statute, it would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a circulator made a specific statement, that the statement was false, and that the circulator knew the statement was false at the time the circulator made the statement.
Email Senior Staff Reporter Emily Green at emily@streetroots.org. Follow her on Twitter @greenwrites.
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