Initiative & Referendum Campaign Management Services
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Initiative & Referendum Campaign Management Services
To: Parties interested in pursuing a ballot measure in Oregon for the 2022 election cycle
Fr: Ted Blaszak, Founder and Director IRCMS 503-481-9052 ted.ircms@gmail.com
Re: A proposal for the circulation of the petitions necessary to qualify either a statutory or constitutional ballot
measure for the Oregon November 2022 Election Ballot
Summary
A proponent of a ballot measure in Oregon for the 2022 election cycle should budget for between
$3.75 - $5.00 per total signature. This would include all costs associated with the petition drive.
They should also plan for an 18 - 20 week petition circulation period and to begin the process with the
Secretary of State’s Office, with their initiative language complete, by early December 2021 at the absolute
latest.
There are some unique advantages IRCMS can offer your signature drive
1. A long history of success, founded in Portland Oregon, IRCMS has a 20-year history of successfully
qualifying ballot measures in Oregon and across the nation. We offer you a signature drive without
hassle or worry. We run an A-Z operation so that you need only provide us with the printed material
and be ready to accept your weekly delivery of signatures, we do all the rest. After 20 years of
experience and leading hundreds of successful grassroots efforts, we know the best locations, the top
neighborhoods, we have well trained petition circulators on hand, a first-rate management team and a
seasoned, top-notch validity department.
2. Outstanding volunteer facilitation, designed to increase volunteer participation and reduce your
workload. Not only can we recruit new volunteers, but our volunteer coordination team will facilitate
signature gathering meet-ups, including training, debriefing and thank you cards for first time
volunteer circulators. We will also provide volunteer kits and training for on-line and individual use.
Volunteers need a lot of guidance when they first ask their neighbors for a signature and we are happy
to provide that service to you. Our offices can also serve as drop-in sites for your volunteers. Here they
can gather supplies, drop off signatures and receive any additional training. IRCMS can also work with
your digital team to maximize the number of signatures that your online presence will produce. This
service is included with the cost listed in this proposal.
3. We offer a high validity rate, 70-75%, with a guarantee. This is because we will gather many of your
signatures by going door-to-door to the homes of known registered voters and at events of likely
supporters. We also have a very fastidious validity team that examines every single petition sheet and
removes the errored signatures. Because of our previous success with this system, staff from the
Oregon Secretary of State wrote to us regarding measure 98 in 2016, “it was the best batch of
signatures they had ever seen”. Within our validity process we will also build a full database of your
petition signers and send these voters thank you cards for signing if you would like.
4. We offer full compliance and processing of all of the necessary petition sheets and employees require
reporting for the Oregon Secretary of State or the relevant local authority for the entire campaign’s
signature drive so you don’t have to. This includes all volunteer signatures and those of other non-
IRCMS campaign staff. We know the rules, we spent a decade working with the legislature to help
write them.
“IRCMS can get you safely across the finish line without hassle and on budget,
something we can only say because we’ve done it so many times before.”
Required Signatures for Ballot Access in Oregon
Constitutional Initiative: 8% of the turnout in the last Governor’s race: 149,360 signatures
Statutory Initiative: 6% of the turnout in the last Governor’s race: 112,020 signatures
Referral: 4% of the turnout in the last Governor’s race: 74,680 signatures
Validity Rate Guarantee
IRCMS offers a 72% validity rate guarantee in Oregon for 2022. To ensure the most reliable results we examine
every single signature and every bit of data collected and confirm it against the official voter file of the
Secretary of State's Office. Our oversight is done in real time, on the ground and overseen by our in-house
legal counsel. This will also allow us to generate a database of signers for you to use immediately.
We will also process volunteer signatures and prepare them for submission alongside our own. As we make
progress toward the ballot, you will receive weekly updates that include the number of signatures gathered
and a progress report detailing our path from benchmark to benchmark on the way to qualification.
A validity rate less than 72%, as determined by the Secretary of State, after their complete review of the
signatures, will trigger a financial penalty to the client’s benefit.
Total Recommended Signatures to Gather in Oregon for 2022
Constitutional Initiative: 207,431 signatures
Statutory Initiative: 155,583 signatures
Referral: 103,722 signaturesThe Paid Effort, the Volunteer Effort, and a State-wide Footprint It is important for a petition drive to have a presence at all the major population centers of the state, with adjustments for those states with geographical signature requirements. This is to help avoid duplicate signatures, increase validity, and open-up multiple labor markets as well as prime turf. In Oregon IRCMS will open at least three offices in Portland, Eugene, and Ashland or Hillsboro. With part time satellites These can serve as drop-in sites for your volunteers. Here they can gather supplies, drop off signatures and receive training. IRCMS can also facilitate volunteer meetups on weekends and work with your digital team to maximize the number of signatures that your volunteers will produce. As outlined above IRCMS offers an excellent A-Z volunteer signature gathering facilitation program. In Oregon, a volunteer effort with such an organization can expect to gather approximately 35,000 signatures. The Staff of IRCMS We have 20 years of building solid relations with canvassers by treating them with respect and excellent pay. This reputation and these connections provide us with several well trained and productive petition circulators to begin your project with immediately. All are extensively trained and excellent communicators. Our staff is your staff, under our hourly charge model you may direct us as you need to. Should there be a particular event or neighborhood that you may require coverage at simply let us know. Likewise, should there be any additional activity you urgently require such as phone banking or non-field activities from our senior staff, they are all available at the same rate listed below. Because the staff of IRCMS are always paid a fair living wage and never on a per-signature or per-knock bounty system, we can attract a large, talented and experienced field team. An army of folks dedicated to not only achieving ballot access, but able to build a longer-term movement. We are proud of our unique business model and believe that it creates more reliable and consistent results for our clients and a better work environment for our staff to thrive in. Cost for a Paid Petition Drive in Oregon In 2020 Using the services of IRCMS and following the model and timeline we have outlined above, clients in Oregon can expect to pay a total of approximately $550,000 - $750,000 to qualify a statutory ballot measure and $900,000 - $1,300,000 for a constitutional ballot measure. A cost average of $3.75 - $5.00 per total signature. This cost is for petitions willing to be “partnered” with those of our other clients. IRCMS can circulate your petition “solo” to offer a more tailored service at a different price point as laid out below. IRCMS charges its clients for each labor hour performed by our staff towards the completion of the signature drive. This includes all field hours required to circulate the petition at public locations and going door-to-door to voters’ homes, processing and validating both paid and volunteer signatures, building a database of all signers, management, training, and transportation. For 2022 in Oregon, IRCMS shall charge its clients a fee of $25 per hour for a petition circulated with those of other IRCMS clients and $43 per hour for petitions that are circulated by themselves. The number of signatures gathered per hour is dependent mainly upon the popular appeal of the petition.
Paid effort Charge Admin Admin Canvass Canvass Canvass Canvass
Validation Management Field Hours Field Hours Field Hours Field Hours
Hours Hours at 6 sigs/hr at 7 sigs/hr at 8 sigs/hr at 9 sigs/hr
Statutory Partnered 3,112 6,590 20,097 hrs 17,226 hrs 15,073 hrs 13,398 hrs
120,583 sigs $25/hr 29,799 T hrs 26,928 T hrs 24,775 T hrs 23,100 T hrs
$744,975 $673,200 $619,375 $577,500
Constitutional Partnered 4,149 8,190 28,739 hrs 24,633 hrs 21,554 hrs 19,159 hrs
172,431 sigs $25/hr 41,078 T hrs 36,962 T hrs 33,893 hrs 31,498 T hrs
$1,026,950 $924,050 $847,325 $787,450
Statutory Solo 3,112 6,590 20,097 hrs 17,226 hrs 15,073 hrs 13,398 hrs
120,583 sigs $43/hr 29,799 T hrs 26,928 T hrs 24,775 T hrs 23,100 T hrs
$1,281,357 $1,157,904 $1,065,325 $993,300
Constitutional Solo 4,149 8,190 28,739 hrs 24,633 hrs 21,554 hrs 19,159 hrs
172,431 sigs $43/hr 41,078 T hrs 36,962 T hrs 33,893 T hrs 31,498 T hrs
$1,766,354 $1,589,366 $1,457,399 $1,354,414
Payment
In Oregon IRCMS shall require a deposit of $50,000 - $75,000 to begin a statewide signature drive. Each week
clients will be provided with a signature count and validity report that shall also include an invoice for that
week’s work. Within 72 hours your signatures will be available for pick up and payment expected. If the client
wishes we will maintain the signatures in our fireproof safes, and copies off site, throughout the duration of
the signature drive.
Signatures by Week
1
12,000
10,000 2
8,000 3
Sig Target
6,000 4
4,000
5
2,000
6
0
Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 7
Recommended Deadlines for Oregon
In Oregon, the time it will take to get petition sheets approved for circulation is dependent upon legal
challenges that may be made by opposition towards an initiative’s content or the Attorney General’s summary
of the measure. The process of getting a final petition sheet approved from the state can take typically
anywhere from 60 – 180 days based upon these challenges.Therefore, IRCMS recommends the following deadlines for a ballot measure in Oregon: August 2, 2021 By this date proponents should have written the first draft of their initiative language and obtained legal services to formalize its wording. Those who have completed this task earlier may be able to use the assistance of the State Legislative Council to draft their ballot measure. August 16, 2021 By this date proponents should submit their initial paperwork with the Secretary of State’s Office to begin gathering their sponsorship signatures to start the ballot title assignment process. September 13, 2021 By this date proponents should submit their sponsorship signatures. 2,000 is the maximum number of signatures that may be submitted. 1,000 of these must be deemed valid for the title process to be triggered. These count towards the overall total number of valid signatures that are needed for the measure to be placed on the ballot. February 1, 2022 This would be the best date, or even earlier, for the petition sheets to begin circulating to the public. May 27, 2022 This is the deadline to submit signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office for an early validation review. After the petition drive has gathered at least 100% in total of the signatures, it may turn them in for this helpful tool. June 11, 2022 The ideal date to have reached at least 100% of your original signature goal and receive your early submission validation report. July 8, 2022 5pm The final deadline for turning in signatures. Cost for Initial Sponsorship Signatures in Oregon For the year 2022 IRCMS will offer its Oregon clients a Sponsorship Signature Package. IRCMS will within a 10 – 21 day time frame gather all the signatures necessary to begin the ballot title process for a flat fee of $19,000. This may include up to two different petitions should the proponents wish to begin the title process with different versions. For a third sponsorship petition another $5,500 is required. Should the Oregon Secretary of State make the Bonus/refund following validity rate after its review of the Sponsorship Signatures 85% Client Shall Pay IRCMS a $5,000 bonus 80% Client Shall Pay IRCMS a $4,000 bonus 75% Client Shall Pay IRCMS a $3,000 bonus 70% 65% IRCMS Shall pay Client a $4,000 refund 60% IRCMS Shall pay Client a $8,000 refund
Other State Laws to be Aware of that are Particular to Oregon
● No pay-per-signature is allowed in Oregon
● Paid circulators must receive formal state training
● Paid circulators must carry a state issued identification card
● Paid petition sheets must be a different color than volunteer sheets
● Monthly submissions must be made to the Secretary of State of all petition sheets from paid gatherers
and their payroll records during the signature drive
IRCMS Partial Client List:
Sex Workers Project of Urban Justice Center
Colorado Attorney General Oregon Secretary of State (for services of Ted Blaszak)
The Sex Workers Project Oregon League of Women Voters / Anti-Gerrymandering
Protect Culver City, CA Ohio Energy Independence
Payday Loan Reform Equal Rights Amendment
Campaign to Ban Gillnetting American Diabetes Association
Oregon Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage Jefferson CO West Virginia Jobs Act
Habitat for Humanity Yamhill County Visitors Association
Humane Society Campaign for Corporate Disclosure
A Better Colorado Payday Loan Reform
Protect Colorado's Future Cascade AIDS Project
No on Proposition 8 California Yes for a Healthy California
Stop Gun Violence Washington State Vacation Days
Renew Houston Maine Tribal Gaming Act
Oregon Historical Society Eric Butterfield for Judge
Environmental Defense Fund Oregon Special Olympics
American Cancer Society Healthy Kids Act
League of Conservation Voters Protect our Salmon
Albertina Kerr Charities Missouri Clean Energy Initiative
Good Government Initiative Tillamook Rainforest Coalition
We Care for California Oregonians for Water, Parks and Wildlife
Planned Parenthood Full Disclosure Nevada
Repair California Oregon Voter Education Project
Preserving Oregon's Roads Head Start Association
Libraries Yes! Political Accountability Campaign
Nursing Home Safety Act Good for Oregon
Oregon Cannabis Tax Act Ben Westlund for Governor
Alex Hamalian for Judge Stop Oregon Litter and Vandalism
Oregonians against the Death Penalty Measures 63 & 64 DODA Act
Basic Rights Oregon Measure 98
I hope this proposal has been helpful, I would be happy to provide you with any more information. Thank you
kindly for your consideration. – Ted Blaszak, President of IRCMSInitiative & Referendum Campaign Management Services
Please contact us right away to explore the possibilities of turning your good ideas into sound public policy.
Initiative & Referendum Campaign Management Services
www.IRCMS.NET * info.ircms@gmail.com * 503-481-9052You can also read
