Rasmussen v. Kroger

Rasmussen · Supreme Court of Oregon · May 5, 2011 · No. S059261

Summary

The Oregon Supreme Court reviewed a petition challenging the Attorney General’s certified ballot title for Initiative Petition 10 (2012). The court concluded that the ballot title did not substantially comply with the applicable statutory requirements and referred it to the Attorney General for modification.

Court
Supreme Court of Oregon
Writing for the Court
Landau, J.
Jurisdiction
Oregon
Decision date
May 5, 2011
Docket number
S059261
Procedural posture
Petitioners sought review of the Oregon Attorney General's certified ballot title for Initiative Petition 10 (2012) under Oregon's ballot-title review statutes.
Standard of review
The court reviews a certified ballot title to determine whether it substantially complies with the requirements of ORS 250.035(2).
Precedential value
Published, en banc Oregon Supreme Court opinion
Parties
Gail Rasmussen, Bethanne Darby v. John R. Kroger, Attorney General, State of Oregon
Disposition
remanded

Topics

redistrictingelection lawappellate procedurestandard of reviewballot access

Practice areas

election lawconstitutional lawappellate procedure

Questions Presented

  1. Whether the Attorney General's certified ballot title for Initiative Petition 10 substantially complied with the requirements of ORS 250.035(2).

Holdings

  1. The certified ballot title did not substantially comply with the statutory requirements and was referred to the Attorney General for modification.

Factual background

Initiative Petition 10 would amend Article IV, section 6, of the Oregon Constitution concerning the reapportionment of state legislative districts after the decennial census. It would transfer responsibility for reapportionment from the Legislative Assembly and Secretary of State to a commission of retired circuit court judges appointed by the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, with the Supreme Court creating a final plan if the commission failed to act by the specified deadline.

Procedural history

The Attorney General certified a ballot title for Initiative Petition 10. Petitioners filed a petition in the Oregon Supreme Court on March 10, 2011, challenging whether the ballot title substantially complied with the statutory requirements. The Supreme Court referred the ballot title to the Attorney General for modification.

Remand instructions

The ballot title is referred to the Attorney General for modification.

Court Document

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