Taking the initiative: a pilot project in Oregon would make the ballot a tool for civic education.

• Author: Bowser, Jennie Drage

What happens to ballot initiatives when you mix a little civic education with a measure of public scrutiny and some grassroots discussion?

You get something that looks a lot like Oregon's new Citizens Initiative Review. Backers think it will lead to a better-informed public with a greater appreciation of what happens when new public policies are created through the initiative process.

The idea for the pilot program was first floated in 2008 by the nonpartisan, nonprofit group Healthy Democracy Oregon. The 2008 review process brought together a randomly selected group of 23 Oregon voters, balanced to reflect the demographic diversity of the state. They spent five days together in Salem learning all they could about Measure 58, a 2008 initiative that proposed limiting bilingual education in public schools to no more than two years for any student.

Panelists heard from initiative sponsors, opponents and impartial background witnesses, policy experts and fiscal analysts. They split on the issue with nine favoring passage and 14 opposed. Each side shared its views with the public in a one-page summary. Measure 58 failed by a margin similar to the positions taken by the panel.

Based on this experience, Healthy Democracy Oregon went to the Legislative Assembly and asked lawmakers to approve including their statements in the official voters' pamphlet for 2010. The legislature agreed on two, and this year statements on Measure 73--a mandatory-minimum proposal for sex offenders and drunken drivers--and Measure 74--a proposal that would allow dispensaries to sell medical marijuana--will appear in the pamphlet.

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DEBATE AND EDUCATION

Oregon Speaker Pro Tem Arnie Roblan was an early supporter of the panel. He wants an educated electorate and believes the review panel process is an excellent model for informing people.

"The initiative process has always frustrated me because so much of the information voters get is what the two sides present," Roblan says. "That doesn't give the full picture. Unintended consequences rarely get discussed--that's just too nuanced for a 30-second radio or television ad."

The democracy group's co-director, Tyrone Reitman, echoes that concern. "An initiative campaign's job is not to inform voters, but to influence voters. The best campaigns do both, but the majority just work to influence." No one is held accountable, he says, for the quality or accuracy of the information presented once the election is...