In 2014 voters in the state of Oregon reversed a Legislative decision to grant drivers card to illegal aliens. The Legislature had been supported by both advocacy groups and a number of powerful business lobbies. Yet even with a preponderance of liberal voters the citizens referendum on Measure 88 rejected providing driver cards for illegals by 66 to 34 percent.

Efforts have been made to follow this rousing success with two new initiatives. One to make English the official language in the state and two, to enact a statewide E-Verify system. However the Oregon Secretary of State managed to write a confusing ballot title for both initiatives.

In the initiative to make English the official language petitioners had asked for:

“Requires government actions/communications in English (with specified exceptions); limits laws allowing non-English documents/services.”

But,were provided by the SOS with:
"Changes state/’subdivision’ (undefined) laws regarding English/other-language use and requirements; exceptions; authorizes lawsuits."
And here is the ballot title written by the state for the E Verify bill.
"Imputes "employment language" to employers;conditions "license" on using specified federal program for employment authorization."
Which might have made sense to a lawyer, but not nearly as obvious as the petitioners request.:
Petitioners took their frustration with the misleading, obtuse ballot titles to the Oregon Supreme Court.


In a ruling issued in early March, Justice Rives Kistler ruled in Kendoll v. Rosenblum that the modified language inserted by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum into Initiative Petition 52 would mislead voters and moreover did not even properly communicate the effect of the initiative, were it become to law.

“[The measure] would require, as a matter of state law, that employers use a federal website to verify the authenticity of the documents that federal law requires only that they review,” the ruling stated. “That additional requirement is one major effect of the measure. The caption, however, does not highlight that effect.”

However while arguments to clarify the ballot title proceeded to the Oregon Supreme Court valuable signature gathering time was lost. Oregon immigration patriots efforts to follow up their resounding victory in stopping Measure 88, and implement two new policies to solve the illegal immigration problem in what appears to be a highly favorable electoral climate may have been undone simply by the confusing legalese drafted by the Oregon Secretary of State as a Ballot Title. 88,000 signatures are due by July. There is a great deal of doubt as to whether groups can meet that deadline to gather the required signature, having encountered several months of delay.