Barnes v. Paulus

588 P.2d 1120, 36 Or. App. 327, 1978 Ore. App. LEXIS 1884

Opinions

SCHWAB, C. J.

The principal issues presented by this appeal are whether an initiative measure proposing an amendment to the Oregon Constitution is in fact a revision and whether the initiating petition for this measure is legally sufficient to place the measure on the November 7, 1978 statewide ballot.

On January 20, 1978, defendant Jim D. Whittenburg filed a preliminary petition with the Secretary of State’s office.¹ This initiative petition, designed to limit property taxes, began with the following words:

"The Amendment.

"That this Article is added to the Constitution to read:

"Section 1.

* * * if: »

On February 7,1978, the Attorney General prepared a ballot title for the measure, the beginning of which stated:

"LIMITATIONS ON AD VALOREM PROPERTY TAXES.

"Proposed constitutional amendment limits ad valorem real property taxes * * *.”²

In his letter transmitting the ballot title to Raymond Phelps, Assistant to the Secretary of State for Elections and Public Records, the Attorney General advised that there were several inconsistencies within the proposed initiative measure, that the petition should be amended to correct these inconsistencies, and that the changes could be made without altering the ballot title.³

On February 8, 1978, Phelps forwarded the ballot title to Whittenburg, along with a letter informing him that he could begin to print cover⁴ and signature sheets for the petition but that those documents were to be submitted to and approved by the Secretary of State’s office prior to circulation for signatures.⁵ On February 22, 1978, Whittenburg filed a printed version of the initiative petition in the form of a cover sheet. At that time, Whittenburg left instructions with another representative of the Secretary of State’s office, Sonya Lindly, that she was to communicate any required changes directly to his printer. On February 27,1978, Lindly telephoned Whittenburg’s printer and explained in detail the changes that were necessary.

On March 21, 1978, Whittenburg submitted another cover sheet in the hopes of obtaining approval of the petition for circulation. He reiterated his request that Lindly notify his printer of any further corrections to be made. In her review of the cover sheet, Lindly found that the printer had corrected only one of the five typographical errors pointed out earlier and again telephoned the printer to apprise her of that fact. What Lindly failed to notice, however, was that the phrase "That this Article is added to the Constitution to read:” had been inadvertently omitted. On March 29, 1978, Whittenburg filed another version of the petition cover sheet, which, after comparison with the March 21 version, was approved for circulation despite the fact that the phrase in question was missing from this sheet as well.

On June 30, 1978, Whittenburg presented to the Secretary of State signature sheets in support of the petition. None of the signatures counted as sufficient to place the measure on the ballot was gathered under a cover sheet containing the phrase "That this Article is added to the Constitution to read:”.

Plaintiffs, two registered voters, brought this action for declaratory and injunctive relief on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated. They sought to enjoin defendant Paulus, in her official capacity as Secretary of State, from: (1) verifying and certifying that a sufficient number of signatures of qualified voters had been received by her office to place the initiative on the ballot as a proposed constitutional amendment; and (2) including the ballot title for the initiative on the official statewide ballot. The ballot title is all that appears on the election ballot. See ORS 254.070, 254.090. Thus, plaintiffs were actually attempting to prevent the initiative measure from appearing on the ballot. The trial court granted summary judgment denying injunctive relief, thereby ruling that the measure could be placed on the ballot for the November, 1978, general election.

Plaintiffs argue that the omission of the phrase "That this Article is added to the Constitution to read:” after issuance of the ballot title renders invalid the initiative petition.⁶ They contend that under the circumstances present here, permitting the initiative measure to be placed on the ballot would violate the full-text requirement found in Art IV, § l(2)(d) of the Oregon Constitution, the full-and-correct copy rule contained in ORS 254.030(1), and OAR 165-20-005.⁷

At the outset, it should be recalled that the role of the judiciary in controlling the actions of the Secretary of State is limited. Courts are without power to inquire into the constitutional validity or the legality of the subject matter of an initiative measure prior to its enactment. Oregon AFL-CIO v. Weldon, 256 Or 307, 312, 473 P2d 664 (1970); Johnson v. City of Astoria et al, 227 Or 585, 591-93, 363 P2d 571 (1961); Unlimited Progress v. Portland, 213 Or 193, 195, 324 P2d 239 (1958); State ex rel. Stadter v. Newbry et al., 189 Or 691, 697-98, 222 P2d 737 (1950); State ex rel. Carson v. Kozer, 126 Or 641, 649, 270 P 513 (1928) [hereinafter Carson Jlj. The only pre-enactment authority possessed by the courts is to review the legal sufficiency of an initiating petition. Unlimited Progress, 213 Or at 195, Carson II, 126 Or at 644-45. The words "legally sufficient” refer only to compliance with the prescribed procedures for getting an initiative measure on the ballot. Newbry, 189 Or at 697, Carson II, 126 Or at 646.

Constitutional and statutory election provisions are to be liberally construed in order to effectuate their purpose. State ex rel. McPherson v. Snell, 168 Or 153, 162, 121 P2d 930 (1942); State ex rel. Carson v. Kozer, 108 Or 550, 555-56, 217 P 827 (1923) [hereinafter Carson I].

In the only decision interpreting the full-text requirement of Art IV, § l(2)(d), Schnell v. Appling, 238 Or 202, 395 P2d 113 (1964), the court ruled that an initiative petition proposing a statutory change is not defective because it does not recite the text of statutes it would repeal nor the text of those laws mentioned in, but left unchanged by, the proposed measure. Schnell, 238 Or at 204. It held that since such matter was not part of the proposed law, it was unnecessary to include it in the initiative petition. Schnell 238 Or at 204-05. The introductory language omitted here is not part of the proposed amendment, and it follows that its omission did not violate the full-text requirement.

Plaintiffs next contend that the full-and-correct-copy rule embodied in ORS 254.030(1), when considered along with the administrative rules governing the circulation of initiative petitions, mandates that the "text of the measure * * * be printed exactly as it was submitted when the preliminary petition was filed.”⁸ Plaintiffs’ contention ignores the Supreme Court’s repeated refusal to invalidate an otherwise proper measure because of technical noncompliance with statutory requirements. See Lindstrom v. Myers, 273 Or 46, 56, 539 P2d 1049 (1975); Miles et al. v. Veatch, et al, 189 Or 506, 532, 220 P2d 511, 221 P2d 905 (1950); State ex rel. McPherson v. Snell, supra, 168 Or at 162 (substantial compliance with statute facilitating exercise of initiative power is all that is required); State ex rel. McNary v. Olcott, 62 Or 277, 279, 125 P 303 (1912) ("legal sufficiency” means complying substantially, not necessary technically, with the requirements of the law); Jewett v. Yerkovich, 27 Or App 127, 133, 555 P2d 950 (1976). Moreover, in Lindstrom v. Myers, supra, the Supreme Court stated that failure to follow ORS 254.030, a "directory statute,” does not by itself constitute a fatal defect to an initiative petition cover sheet. Lindstrom, 273 Or at 51-52. "The important thing is the extent to which the defect might influence the voters’ consideration of the merits.” Lindstrom v. Myers, supra at 51.

"* * * [IJnvalidation of an election is a severe sanction and should not be lightly undertaken. It is a matter of balancing the seriousness of the defect against the consequences of invalidation. Before the electorate will be disfranchised by anyone’s failure to comply with the statute, the failure must be one of considerable magnitude which threatens the purity of the ballot. * * *” Lindstrom v. Myers, 273 Or at 56.

In determining the magnitude of the failure, we must consider the likelihood that the error misled the signers of the petition. Lindstrom, 273 Or at 50, 51.

Plaintiffs argue that the absence of the phrase "That this Article is added to the Constitution to read:” may have led the signers of the petition to believe that the measure proposed a mere statutory change, not a constitutional amendment. However, the petition cover sheet challenged herein contains a ballot title whose text begins: "Proposed constitutional amendment * * The caption of the initiative measure which appears immediately beneath the ballot title reads: "Proposed Amendment.” It hardly seems reasonable to assume that the absence of the language adverted to by plaintiffs was likely to have produced "serious confusion in a signer’s mind” concerning the impact of the proposed measure. See Lindstrom, 273 Or at 50.

Alternatively, plaintiffs contend that the signers of the petition were misled or deceived because nothing in the initiative measure, standing alone, suggests that which the ballot title purports to describe: a proposed constitutional amendment. However, in Lindstrom, the Supreme Court dismissed as remote the possibility that reference to "steelhead” in the ballot title and to "trout” in the body of the initiative caused signers of the petition examined therein to misunderstand the subject matter of the measure. Lindstrom v. Myers, supra at 50. In the instant case, where no inconsistencies are apparent, there is an even slighter chance of voter mistake or deception. Under the principles enunciated in Lindstrom, and Carson I, the petition here challenged is legally sufficient to be placed on the ballot.

Plaintiffs also contend that the measure proposing property tax limitations is not an amendment, but instead provides for a constitutional revision. In Holmes v. Appling, 237 Or 546, 392 P2d 636 (1964), the Supreme Court held that the Constitution, by its terms, precludes the use of the initiative process to achieve a constitutional revision. Holmes, 237 Or at 551. In Holmes, the court approved the refusal by the Secretary of State to furnish a ballot title after concluding that the measure contested therein could not possibly be characterized as an amendment. Holmes v. Appling, supra 237 Or at 552-55. A comparison of the measure in Holmes with that of the case at bar demonstrates their dissimilarity. The property tax limitation measure before us here consists of six sections totalling approximately 16 lines of type which occupy less than one-third of the petition cover sheet. The caption reads: "Proposed Amendment.” In contrast, the document in Holmes appeared to be based largely on a draft of a constitutional revision that had not been adopted by the Legislative Assembly one year earlier. The court noted several indicia suggesting something other than an amendment:

"* * * [T]he measure * * * is * * * a thorough overhauling of the present constitution, commencing with the customary 'The people of Oregon ordain this Constitution,’ and including an article providing for the transition period between the date of its adoption and the day it was to go into effect. It is 56 typewritten pages in length. It contains many and important changes in substance, many others in language, removing ambiguities and correcting errors, and still others in the arrangement of its various provisions.” Holmes v. Appling, 237 Or at 552.

Despite the differences between the two measures, plaintiffs advance the proposition that the most important distinction between an amendment and a revision is the number of existing constitutional provisions that would be affected if the measure were to become law. However, it is only reasonable to expect that an amendment limiting property taxation will have a ripple effect, and we are unpersuaded by plaintiffs’ citation of Holmes as supporting authority for the test they propose. It is impossible to draw a precise line between an amendment and a revision. Suffice it to say that the initiative measure proposed here is more in the nature of an amendment than a revision. As such, it may properly be submitted to the people for their approval or rejection.

Plaintiffs’ last assertion is that even if the proposed initiative is an amendment, it is constitutionally objectionable in that it embraces more than one subject. See Or Const, Art IV, § 1(2)(d). Any decision on the merits of this contention must be deferred until the measure is enacted into law, if it is. State ex rel. Stadter v. Newbry, supra, 189 Or At 697-98; Brummell v. Clark, et al, 31 Or App 405, 413, 570 P2d 671 (1977).

The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Footnotes

1

See ORS 254.030.

2

See ORS 254.060.

3

See ORS 254.060.

4

The cover sheet in an initiative petition is the document containing the ballot title and the proposed changes in law, (statutory or constitutional as the case may be) as well as instructions on how to enter signatures on the sheets that follow.

5

OAR 165-20-005 incorporates by reference the administrative rules promulgated by the Secretary of State in a publication entitled "Initiative and Referendum Manual” (1977-78). The Manual states in pertinent part at page 3:

"A copy of the cover and signature sheet must be submitted to the Secretary of State prior to circulation. The format will be reviewed and the text proofread. The text of the measure must be printed exactly as it was submitted when the preliminary petition was filed. When the sheets are determined to be correct, the petitioners will be authorized to circulate for signatures. * * *” (Emphasis in original.)

According to plaintiffs’ counsel at oral argument, the purpose of the review by the Secretary of State is to correct typographical errors and to assure that a petition is proper as to form, kind, and size of paper. See ORS 254.030(1).

6

In their brief, plaintiffs allege that there were irregularities in the circulation of the petition that warrant its nullification. This contention was based on the fact that the vast majority of the signature sheets filed with the Secretary of State on June 30 were attached to a copy of the nonapproved cover sheet submitted on March 21. The remaining sheets accompanied the March 29 cover sheet which did receive approval for circulation. The signature sheets were segregated according to the respective cover sheet to which they were attached, and, since the signatures accompanying the March 29 version numbered approximately 3,000, only those signatures appended to the March 21 sheet were counted. Plaintiffs’ brief thus reasons that the signatures counted for the purpose of qualifying the measure for placement on the ballot were invalid and that no count of valid signatures has ever been made. However, plaintiffs’ counsel agreed at oral argument that the omitted language, "That this Article is added to the Constitution to read,” provided the sole basis for appeal on procedural grounds.

7

Or Const. Art IV, § l(2)(d):

"An initiative petition shall include the full text of the proposed law or amendment to the Constitution. A proposed law or amendment to the Constitution shall embrace one subject only and matters properly connected therewith.” (Emphasis ours.)

ORS 254.030(1):

"* * * To every sheet of petitioners’ signatures shall be attached a full and correct copy of the measure proposed by initiative petition * * *.” (Emphasis ours.)

For the pertinent language of OAR 165-20-005, see n 5, supra.

8

See nn 5 and 7, supra.