The right to petition government is a basic civil liberty that Coloradans have not been shy about invoking.
But as the initiative process has ramped up in recent years, so have troubling stories about invalid signatures, tricky ballot titles and fast-talking signature gatherers.
A bill introduced in the state legislature last week attempts to crack down on at least some of those abuses. While the bill proposes some worthy reforms, nothing takes the place of a voter’s careful reading of a petition and research of the issue at hand.
Furthermore, the proposed bill does not — and cannot because it’s not a constitutional change — take on some of the reforms that are desperately needed and were included in Referendum O on the 2008 ballot.
That measure, which voters rejected, would have amended the state constitution to require more signatures for a constitutional amendment via ballot and fewer for an initiative to change state law. As it stands, it’s far too easy to cement law in Colorado’s constitution.
However, House Bill 1326, which is sponsored by House Speaker Terrance Carroll, proposes some useful changes, many of which would more closely tie those who solicit signatures to the integrity of the petitions they’ve submitted.
It would require workers to receive training and attest they’re familiar with petition laws, require them to appear at formal protests over petitions they’ve gathered, create new criminal violations for wrongdoing, and require that lists of signature gatherers be kept. It also toughens up rules for petition notarization.
Furthermore, those who are hiring signature gatherers must be licensed by the secretary of state. And perhaps most importantly, it says proponents of a ballot measure cannot pay petition circulators by the signature.
That could cut down on the kind of shenanigans that waste everyone’s time, such as petitions bearing the names of cartoon characters.
Those entities seeking signatures also would be required to pay a license fee, the amount of which will be set by the secretary of state. If the measure passes, such a fee must be nominal. It cannot be so high as to discourage people who would put a proposed law or constitutional amendment on the ballot.
Besides more closely monitoring signature gatherers, the measure would provide a limited escape hatch for those with second thoughts after signing a petition.
The law would allow someone who signed a petition to withdraw that signature on or before the day the petitions are submitted to the secretary of state. We’re concerned about that part of the bill because of the potential it has to gum up the process and because it could be used for nefarious political purposes.
With some changes, HB 1326 could be a good step toward tightening up the state’s petition process. It makes progress toward ensuring measures that get on the ballot have traveled an ethical and lawful road to the voting booth, as long as it doesn’t create more loopholes.
