84.77% Of Signatures Submitted Were Valid

This was breaking news while we were downtown for our coffee, so itt's likely everyone already knows. But according to the Secretary of State (pdf), Initiative #150 has qualified for the November ballot. As expected, voters will be deciding whether or not to enshrine special rights for heterosexual couples into the Oregon Constitution.

The announcement today said: "This proposed constitutional amendment required 100,840 valid signatures to gain ballot access. The petition contained 204,160 valid signatures of 84.77% of the 240,850 total signatures submitted for verification."

There's some relevant background from the Statesman Journal, including a brief history of past ballot measures deailing with gays and lesbians. "But this," the paper explains, "is the first measure dealing with Oregon's marriage law, which dates back to 1862." As they point out, this sets the stage for a heated battle between Basic Rights Oregon and the Defense of Marriage Coalition.

And a combined Associated Press/KGS report offers some background of its own and some poll numbers regarding same-sex marriage in Oregon.

The ballot title for the measure will read: "Amends constitution: Only marriage between one man and one woman is valid or legally recognized as marriage." You can also read about the likely explanatory statement for the measure's listing in the voters' pamphlet.

This entry was posted by The One True b!X on July 26th, 2004, at 2:44 PM and is filed under Law Enforcement & Legal Issues, Same-Sex Marriage, State of Oregon. There are two comments (most recently on July 28th, 2004, at 3:39 PM) and .