Ballot Integrity Reform: Oversight and Enforcement
Often, the biggest problem with the ballot initiative process is that no single person has the authority to take action against abuse, deception, and fraud. Secretaries of State, with limited staff and resources, simply don't have the ability to provide oversight and enforcement of the system, while state legislatures have provided little support in the way of laws that allow for judicial oversight and enforcement to police fraudulent activity.
- States need to provide the authority to exclude signatures and pursue legal action against campaign committees who should ultimately be responsible for the paid signature gathering vendors and campaign circulators they employ when fraud or forgery is proven.
- States need to provide their Secretaries of State with the resources necessary to police the process and the authority to refer violations to the Attorney General for prosecution.
- Courts need to act on allegations of fraud within a reasonable and expedited time frame to prevent any question that a ballot initiative qualified for the ballot using fraud or deception.
Oversight and Enforcement (total 7 points maximum):
17. Are circulation companies prohibited from paying signature gatherers on the sole basis of the number of signatures they collect for, at minimum, the majority of their compensation?
YES- CO, MT, ND, NE, OR, SD, WY
NO- AK, AR, AZ, CA, FL, MA, ME, MI, MO, MS, NV, OH, OK, UT, WA
18. Does the state have specific penalties for violating wage and hour requirements when paying petition circulators?
YES- AK, CO, ND, NE, OR, SD, WY
NO- AR, AZ, CA, FL, ID, IL, MA, ME, MI, MO, MS, MT, NV, OH, OK, UT, WA, WY
19. Does the state provide authority to an entity to exclude signatures if they have been collected in violation of state law?
YES-AK, AR, AZ, CO, FL, ID, IL, MA, ME, MI, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NV, OH, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY
NO- CA
20. Are there specific statutory penalties for a campaign committee that has knowingly encouraged the violation of state signature gathering laws?
YES- CO, ID, OR
NO- AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, MA, ME, MI, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NV, OH, OK, SD, UT, WA, WY
21. Is there a clear process and expedited timeline for the state court system to review allegations of fraud? (Due to the importance of a clear process, this question has a value of 3 points)
YES- AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, ID, IL, MA, ME, MI, MO, MT, ND, NV, OH, OK, SD, UT, WA, WY
NO- MS, NE, OR
