Some day, we may see a robot chase a voter down the sidewalk, clutching a clipboard in its metal talons, as it chirps, “Sign this if you want to cut your taxes.”

For now, however, we have “Petey,” an ATM-style kiosk that may be the country’s first electronic canvasser.

Ross Day, a conservative political activist who also runs the petition firm Vote Oregon, developed Petey — short for “petitioner” — and proudly showed off the prototype outside his Beaverton office Tuesday.

Day, who got the idea when he saw the kiosk’s shell at a state government surplus sale, says he thinks robo-canvassers will eventually replace those ubiquitous initiative petitioners you see outside stores and at festivals.

“Obviously it’s cheaper,” Day says. “I don’t have to pay Petey, other than the power. … It also goes to the integrity of the process. Petey — at least I hope not — is not going to be forging any signatures or committing any other kind of fraud.”

Passers-by can use a touch screen to see the text of the three petitions Day’s firm is now circulating. And they can print out a copy of any of the petitions and then sign and deposit it in the attached mailbox.

The device takes advantage of a 2007 law that lets voters download a single-signature petition from the Internet and mail it back to sponsors. Before that, only signatures on petition sheets also signed by a canvasser were valid.

Ted Blaszak, president of Democracy Resources, which petitions for liberal causes, says the idea sounds both “interesting and gimmicky.” He wonders how many voters will sign a petition without talking it over with a real person.

“People are reluctant to sign away any information for something they are not very confident about, and a machine doesn’t really address this,” he said.

Still, online petitioning has started to pick up steam. Day, whose firm collected signatures to refer the tax measures to the Jan. 26 ballot, says that several thousand came from downloaded petitions.

Day says he hopes to build five or six more machines that he will move around the state, including in stores where merchants allow them.

Eventually, Petey will become more sophisticated, he says. Maybe, for example, it could show a short video touting the initiative. But he’s a long way from being able to send his new invention after a reluctant signer while it pleads, “Don’t you care about the children?”

Jeff Mapes

By David Steves
The Register-Guard

SALEM — Starting Monday, Oregonians can dispense with the paperwork and go online to register as new voters or update their current voter status.

The state Elections Division’s launch of the new system means Oregon is the fourth state to give residents the option of registering as voters online. Three other states will follow suit this year and two more are developing their procedures.

Secretary of State Kate Brown, who is overseeing the online registration program, said the new system should help reduce barriers to voting and increase participation in elections.

“Making it simpler and more efficient to register to vote is a strategy to do that,” she said.

The state will keep in place all its current options for people who want to register or update their voter information. They include picking up forms at various public offices or filling out a form online and printing it out. Either way, the forms must be delivered by hand or mail to state or county elections offices.

Don Hamilton, an Elections Division spokesman, said the new system will give people the option of submitting the information over the Internet for the first time. It’s available to anyone who is in the state Driver and Motor Vehicle Services system — either because they have a driver’s license, a DMV-issued identification card or a learner’s permit. That’s necessary because it allows the Elections Division to verify voter signatures, which are on file with the DMV.

Hamilton said it takes less than five minutes to fill out the online form required to register as a voter or for current voters to update their party affiliation or address.

A training session Thursday on the new system drew about three dozen people, mostly from political parties and political activism organizations. One participant, Henry Kraemer from the Bus Project, said he hoped it would make it easier for people to become voters.

“This platform is going to open it up to a lot of young folks who are harder to get to otherwise,” said Kraemer, the activist group’s political director. “In other states we’ve seen that it’s increased registration by thousands of people.”

Washington Bus, a sister organization in Oregon’s northern neighbor, has a link to its state’s online voter registration system on its own Web site, but continues to reach out to potential voters in person at festivals, campuses and other events. Kraemer said the Oregon Bus Project will do the same.

The 2009 Legislature authorized Oregon’s online voter-registration system. Hamilton said it would save elections offices staff time because they will no longer need to input information from those who register through the Internet.

The state’s launch of its online voter registration system isn’t the only development to advance the role of the Internet in allowing Oregonians to get involved with the political process. A conservative political organization, Common Sense for Oregon, plans to announce today what its news release called “a new electronic initiative and referendum petition system, including a first-of-its-kind electronic petition kiosk system.”

The 2007 Legislature approved the use of electronic petitions. They were used in last year’s signature drive to place Measures 66 and 67 on the January ballot.

Unlike the state’s voter registration system, these “E-petitions” must be printed out, signed with what elections officials call a “wet signature” and turned in to the state Elections division in paper format.

Ross Day, the founder of Common Sense for Oregon, said his group had two innovations it hoped to ramp up the role of electronic petitions. One is to e-mail to potential supporters of its causes petition sheets that are “postage paid” and another is the completion of the first touch-screen kiosks. The prototype will be on display at today’s news conference in Beaverton and again at next month’s Dorchester Conference that Republicans hold annually in Seaside.

Day said he hopes that 12 such kiosks will be placed in businesses where customers can print and sign petitions and place them in a nearby dropbox.

“The biggest challenge is going to be the same as for voter registration: it’s new and people may not trust it at first,” he said.

By Alan Gustafson
Statesman Journal
January 28, 2010

A Salem-based group awarded another “Golden Fleece Award” to the state prison system Wednesday for spending nearly $1 million on satellite television service for inmates.

Last year, the same nonprofit group — Common Sense for Oregon — handed out its inaugural golden fleece award to the corrections system. The first award criticized the prison system for serving soda pop to prisoners.

“They are our first two-time winner,” Ross Day, the group’s executive director, said Wednesday.

Day said the latest fleece award was triggered by a corrections employee who complained about inmates watching cable television programs.

“We got a tip from a corrections employee who said he can’t afford regular cable and here these prisoners are sitting there watching satellite television,” Day said.

Prison officials confirmed spending about$1 million per two-year budget cycle for satellite television service.

It’s paid for through the Inmate Welfare Fund, which doesn’t receive any state general fund money, officials said.

Funded by prison commissary sales and inmate phone calls, the IFW totals $10.2 million in the current two-year budget cycle. Of that, about 10 percent is earmarked to pay for satellite television.

“I understand that people may be surprised that part of the Inmate Welfare Fund goes for satellite television,” said Jennifer Black, a Corrections Department spokeswoman. “But it also goes for education programming, and alcohol and drug treatment. And our mission is to run safe and secure institutions, making sure offenders have something to do while they’re not working or in programming.”

Inmates who demonstrate good behavior can purchase personal televisions through prison commissaries. Bolted to bunks in cells, the TVs can be hooked up to a satellite signal.

Prison officials said Oregon’s 14-prison, 14,000-inmate prison system derives safety benefits from inmates watching television inside cells. It prevents fights that used to break out when inmates gathered in large groups to watch TV in recreation rooms.

“It’s an inmate-management issue,” Black said. “You can’t have 100 or 50 inmates in one big room trying to watch one television and deciding what (show) is on. That does not work for operating safe and secure institutions.”

Day doesn’t dispute the safety benefits linked to inmates watching television within their cells.

“I understand the purpose behind it,” he said. “The purpose is they are electronic babysitters, and it could be a safety issue for the guards. It’s something for the prisoners to do, to keep their minds off doing other things.”

However, Day said, the prison system should pull the plug on the satellite service and switch to a cheaper system that delivers basic television.

“They could just as easily go out and buy a $50 antenna, throw it up on the roof, and the prisoners could get free television over the air, just like many Oregonians,” he said.

The switch would free up additional inmate welfare fund dollars for “better uses,” such as drug and alcohol treatment programs, Day said.

Antennas aren’t a realistic alternative for a prison system with institutions scattered throughout the state, corrections officials said.

“My guess is that it’s not,” Black said. “We have institutions in Lakeview and over on the coast, and having an antenna isn’t going to work in those kinds of places,” she said. “Is it going to work in an old building like OSP (Oregon State Penitentiary)? I’m not sure.”

The Corrections Department later issued a written statement: “Purchasing a $50 antenna would not work for the Department. We have many institutions in rural areas outside of the Willamette Valley, and satellite/cable is the only option.”

Day said he was hopeful that the prison agency eventually would scrap satellite television. He said the prison system stopped serving soda pop to inmates after receiving the inaugural golden fleece award.

In response, Black said, prison officials launched a program to phase out soda pop for health and budgetary reasons well before the group spotlighted the issue.

“I’m sure that they take credit for it, but we were already in the process of phasing it out,” she said.

agustafs@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6709

Golden Fleece Awards

Common Sense for Oregon says that it presents the Golden Fleece Award “to a politician, program or other spendthrifts that waste hard-earned tax dollars on foolish items that ordinary Oregonians would never support.” The Salem-based nonprofit organization has handed out four fleece awards, two of them to the state prison system, since launching the effort last year.

Nearly $1 Million Spent on Satellite Television for Prisoners!

Salem, Ore– Common Sense For Oregon today announced its fourth Golden Fleece Award winner.  The award has been given for a second time to the Oregon Department of Corrections for spending nearly $1 million on free satellite television service for prisoners.

“This is unbelievable,” said Ross Day, executive director of Common Sense For Oregon, “First we discovered the state was giving away free soda pop, now we discovered the state is giving prisoners free satellite television.”

Although the satellite television service is paid out of the Inmate Welfare Fund, which is an account that is funded through profits from the sale of items to prisoners and families, revenue from the Inmate Welfare Fund could be spent on other programs which are currently being funded with taxpayer dollars.

“The taxpayers of Oregon are back-filling drug and alcohol treatment programs, education programs, and counseling programs so the Department of Corrections can provide free satellite television service to prisoners,” said Day.

Oregon administrative rules allow money from the Inmate Welfare Fund to be used for the purchase of “equipment for television viewing”, but not for satellite (or cable) television services, which is another reason this expense is highly questionable, said Day.  A copy of the relevant administrative rule is attached to this release.

“This money should be used on programs that are currently paid for with tax dollars.  The Department of Corrections would save the taxpayers money by simply purchasing a 50 dollar antennae and letting prisoners watch over-the-air television,” Day concluded.

This latest Golden Fleece Award was brought to the attention of Common Sense For Oregon from a tip received from a corrections officer on the anonymous, toll-free tip line created by Common Sense For Oregon.  The telephone number is 1-877-UFLEECE.  Or, citizens can go to www.commonsensefororegon.org and leave an anonymous message on that website.

Common Sense For Oregon is an Oregon non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting common sense solutions to the issues important to Oregonians.

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Specific Uses of Funds

The Department may, with legislative and executive department authorization, use Inmate Welfare Fund monies to fund a variety of programs, services and activities benefiting the general inmate population and enhancing inmate activities and programs, including capital construction and improvement projects in support of such programs, services and activities. Specific uses of the fund may include, but are not limited to, operation, support or enhancement of the following programs, services and activities:

(1) Education programs;

(2) Alcohol and drug treatment and education programs;

(3) Department of Corrections facility canteens, including copying machine made available for inmate use through the facility canteens;

(4) Inmate trust accounting system;

(5) Provision of postage-paid envelopes for indigent inmates;

(6) Provision of nonprescription, over-the-counter health aids made available for inmate use in inmate housing units in Department of Corrections facilities;

(7) Department of Corrections facility libraries designated for inmate use;

(8) Department of Corrections facility visiting room equipment, supplies and services; and

(9) Inmate activities programs, including:

(a) Equipment for television viewing;

(b) Visiting music/entertainment groups;

(c) Music equipment and supplies;

(d) Activities equipment, supplies and services;

(e) Repair of equipment purchased from the Inmate Welfare Fund;

(f) Food or supplies for food for special occasions;

(g) Inmate awards for the purpose of providing umpires, referees, and maintaining activity equipment and apparel;

(h) Inmate tournaments and holiday events;

(i) Inmate club activities; and

(j) Entertainment equipment, supplies and services.

I dare say there are probably no two more politically “blue” states (i.e. states with significant majorities of Democrat voters) than Massachusetts and Oregon. Of course, Massachusetts is the home of the historically liberal Kennedy clan of politicians. Oregon is the home of the historically liberal environmental Earth-muffin clan of politicians. In Massachusetts, the state legislature, the governor, and all six statewide constitutional offices are controlled by Democrats. In Oregon, the state legislature, the governor, and all seven statewide constitutional offices are controlled by Democrats. In both states, Democrats can push around Republicans, steal their lunch money (see example in Oregon: Measures 66 and 67) and there isn’t much the Republicans can do about it. In these two states, the Democrats have acted like political bullies. Recently in both states, rather than rely on the sheer power of their political majorities, the Democrats are resorting to political game-play that can only be classified as cheating. In Massachusetts, there is an important election on January 26th to fill the U.S. Senate seat once occupied by the late Edward Kennedy. The seat is important because the Democrats need to retain the seat in order to maintain their filibuster-proof majority in the United States Senate. A filibuster-proof majority will (in theory) make it much easier to pass President Obama’s massive takeover of the health insurance industry. If by some miracle the Democrats lose the Massachusetts special election, that means the majority Democrats in the United States Senate lose their filibuster-proof majority, and suddenly Democrats will be forced to include Republicans in the development of real health care reform. In the ordinary course of business, after an election, the state’s top election official immediately certifies the election so the winner can begin serving the people as soon as possible. However, the Democrats in Massachusetts have already announced that if the Republican candidate – Mr. Scott Brown – wins the election, the Democrats will take as long as 30 days to certify the election, in order to avoid losing their filibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate and buy as much time as possible to pass ObamaCare. Of course, if the Democrat wins the race in Massachusetts, the Democrat will immediately be certified and seated in the United States Senate. Unless you live in a cave and only leave the cave to buy the latest edition of the Keizertimes, you should be aware of the upcoming special election ending on January 26th where voters will have a chance to vote in favor of, or against, two tax increases passed by the heavily controlled Democrat state legislature. But a funny thing happened on the way to the ballot box in Oregon. In order to further influence the outcome of the anticipated election, Democrats in the legislature voted to alter the election process to get their desired result in the election. First, the Democrats wrote a ballot title that is extremely biased and unreliable. Ballot titles are always printed on the ballot (hence the name….) and are the first (and sometimes last) thing a voter reads on a subject. Accordingly, the language used in a ballot title can have a substantial impact on an election. The Democrats in the Oregon legislature know this fact, and wrote an intentionally untrustworthy ballot title in a blatant attempt to influence the outcome of the election. Second, the Democrats tried to further confuse the voters by changing the law so that voting ‘yes’ a voter was actually voting ‘no’ and a voter voting ‘no’ was actually voting ‘yes’. Everybody except the Oregon Democrats realized how blatantly deceptive this scheme was, and soon intense public pressure forced the Democrats to mothball that idea. Finally, Democrats stacked a legislative committee that drafted an “official” statement explaining the two tax measures. In fact, the “official” statement is nothing more than a campaign piece drafted by the proponents of the two tax measures. In both Oregon and Massachusetts, the Democrat party has substantial control over the public debate (and to a certain extent, the outcome of elections), and yet in each state the Democrat bullies choose to cheat the citizens of the respective states. Why? I think there is a one-word explanation: backlash. The senate race in Massachusetts is being considered by many to be a referendum on President Obama. The tax campaign is being considered by some to be a referendum on the policies of the Governor and the state legislature. I think Democrats fear the outcome of each election (especially if they lose) will result in a historical backlash by the voters. Democrats cannot let this happen. So rather than play fair, Democrats are resorting to election manipulation techniques that would make a Chicago mayor proud. In other words, the power that makes the Democrats in these states political bullies has evaporated – it is illusory. A loss in either election (or both, especially) will signal the end of the bully reign of the Democrats and present hope to Republicans. And demonstrate that a bully without power is really no bully at all. Ross Day is executive director and general counsel for Common Sense for Oregon.

Wednesday, December 30. 2009

As a member of the 2009 Legislative Assembly then State Senator Margaret Carter played an intricate role as co-chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee which helped pass House Bill 2009, creating the new position that Margaret Carter then reportedly lobbied to acquire. “We cannot have state legislators creating lucrative jobs with large pay increases for themselves, it violates the public’s trust and the Oregon Constitution,” said Ross Day, Executive Director of Common Sense For Oregon and the attorney handling this case. “This case is about protecting the integrity of Oregon’s government and the Oregon Constitution.” Common Sense For Oregon is an Oregon non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting common sense solutions to the issues important to Oregonians, and protecting Oregon’s cherished initiative and referendum system.

December 29, 2009, 5:28PM

SALEM — Common Sense for Oregon filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Marion County claiming the Oregon Department of Human Services, agency director Dr. Bruce Goldberg and deputy director Margaret Carter violated a provision in the state Constitution designed to prevent legislators from creating jobs for themselves.

The conservative group, started by former state Republican chairman Kevin Mannix, initiative activist Russ Walker and land-use attorney Ross Day, argues that Article IV, Section 30 of the Oregon Constitution prohibits lawmakers from taking a for-profit job created by the Legislature during their term of office.

Carter was a member of the Oregon Senate and co-chair of the powerful Ways & Means budget committee when Goldberg hired her in August to fill a newly created job that pays $121,872 a year.

The group alleges that Carter helped pass House Bill 2009, a comprehensive health reform measure which created the Health Authority and led to her new position.

Patty Wentz, a chief spokeswoman for the agency said, “We have not yet seen a copy of the lawsuit, but based on the news release it seems there is some confusion. House Bill 2009 created an agenda for health reform in Oregon and did not create positions in the Department of Human Service.”

An Attorney General’s opinion issued earlier also cast doubt on whether the constitutional provision applies.

–Michelle Cole

For Immediate Release
December 29, 2009

Common Sense For Oregon files lawsuit against the State of Oregon to uphold Oregon Constitution

Salem, Ore—Common Sense For Oregon filed a lawsuit in Marion County Circuit Court in Salem today. The suit is being filed against the State of Oregon, the Department of Human Services, Director of the Oregon Department of Human Services Dr. Bruce Goldberg, and Deputy Director of the Oregon Department of Human Services Margaret Carter for violating the Oregon Constitution’s ban on legislative self-dealing.

Article IV, Section 30 of the Oregon Constitution prohibits legislators from taking a “civil office of profit” created by the legislature during their term of office. This section was identified to protect Oregon citizens from a scenario where a state legislator creates a lucrative position which they then fill themselves in a self-dealing conflict of interest. Common Sense For Oregon says that is exactly what happened with House Bill 2009 and Margaret Carter.

As a member of the 2009 Legislative Assembly then State Senator Margaret Carter played an intricate role as co-chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee which helped pass House Bill 2009, creating the new position that Margaret Carter then reportedly lobbied to acquire.

“We cannot have state legislators creating lucrative jobs with large pay increases for themselves, it violates the public’s trust and the Oregon Constitution,” said Ross Day, Executive Director of Common Sense For Oregon and the attorney handling this case. “This case is about protecting the integrity of Oregon’s government and the Oregon Constitution.”

Common Sense For Oregon is an Oregon non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting common sense solutions to the issues important to Oregonians, and protecting Oregon’s cherished initiative and referendum system.

By: Amanda Newman
December 17, 2009

After rejecting four initiative petition proposals submitted by Hank Grum, the city of Newberg is being called on to answer for its actions by an Oregon advocacy group that filed suit against the city today (Thursday) on behalf of Grum.

The lawsuit, filed in Yamhill County Circuit Court by Common Sense for Oregon, alleges the city falsely dismissed the prospective petitions submitted to city elections officials.

Newberg elections officer Dawn Wilson said the petitions were “absolutely not” falsely dismissed, adding, “We consulted outside legal counsel.”
She said Thursday afternoon the city had just received a copy of the complaint and forwarded it to attorney Tom Sponsler of Beery, Elsner & Hammond LLP.

“Currently, I can tell you that there’s nothing new or surprising in the complaint,” Wilson wrote in an e-mail. Until Sponsler has reviewed the lawsuit and discussed it with city attorney Terry Mahr, the city will not comment further.

During the 2009 legislative session, former state senator Margaret Carter served as co-chair on the Joint Ways and Means committee which approved a bill that appropriated funds through new legislation to the Dept. of Human Services in the 2009 Legislative Session. The measure—HB 2009—authorized the creation of addition deputy director positions. Margaret Carter was hired as the Deputy Director for Human Services Programs.

As a state senator, Carter earned $21,612 per year. In her new position, Carter will be making $121,872, fully $100,000 more than she made as a state senator.

Carter’s employment in this new, lucrative position was assured. First, Carter lobbied the Director of the Department of Human Services for the position. It is not entirely clear when Carter started lobbying for the position—before or after HB 2009 became law—but it is clear that Carter wanted the $100,000 pay raise. Second, Carter lobbied the Governor’s office for the position.

Finally, unlike most candidate recruitment efforts that interview numerous candidates for an open position (especially a position with the responsibilities as the Deputy Director of Human Services Programs), the Department of Human Services only interviewed Carter for the position, virtually guaranteeing her employment as the new Deputy Director.

Even The Oregonian reported in August that Carter talked with both the Director of the Department of Human Services and the Governor’s office about the position. Carter’s lucrative position was created by the 2009 Legislature by House Bill 2009. Legislative records show that Carter’s committee worked on the measure.

In addition to the ethically questionable circumstances surrounding Carter’s employment, there are likely legal issues as well. Article IV, Section 30 of the Oregon Constitution prohibits legislators from filling “office(s) of profit” that the legislators themselves created during the legislative session. This constitutional provision is intended to avoid the circumstance where a legislator trades her vote in return for a lucrative job in an agency in which the legislator exercises control. In short, this constitutional provision is intended to prohibit exactly the circumstances surrounding Carter’s employment.

Article IV, Section 30 of the Oregon Constitution:
No Senator or Representative shall…be appointed to any civil office of profit which shall have been created during such term [i.e. created during the time for which the Legislator was elected].

A civil office of profit is any office that is continuing, prescribed by law, and invested with some powers of sovereignty. Wells v. State of Indiana, ex. rel. Peden, 175 Ind. 380, (1911). Deputy director positions are by definition a “civil office of profit”. Id. at 384-385.

House Bill 2009, passed by the 2009 Legislature, created the position of Deputy Director of Human Services.

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The Golden Fleece Award will be awarded on a regular basis to the person, politician or government agency responsible for the most notorious—and wasteful—example of spending highlighted in the previous month.