(Amended by Ordinance Nos. 177200 and 178799, effective November 5, 2004.)
A. The Auditor shall not accept a petition for signature verification which does not satisfy the requirements of this chapter and other applicable law. Petitions shall be verified in the order in which they are filed with the Auditor.
B. A petition shall not be accepted for signature verification unless it contains at least 100 percent of the required number of signatures.
C. In computing the required number of signatures, the required number shall be a percentage, as provided in this section, of the number of electors registered in the city on the date of the primary municipal election immediately preceding the date the prospective petition is filed.
D. An initiative petition shall:
1. Be filed with the Auditor for signature verification no less than four months before the election date specified on the petition. Failure to meet this filing deadline shall render the petition void.
2. Be signed by a number of electors equal to or greater than 9 percent of the number of electors registered in the city on the date of the primary municipal election immediately preceding the date the prospective petition is filed.
E. A referendum petition shall:
1. Be filed with the Auditor for signature verification no later than 30 days after passage of the ordinance sought to be referred, however, it must be submitted to the Auditor at least four months before an election date in order to be placed on the ballot for that election. The four months submission requirement may be waived if the Auditor can complete the signature verification process and meet the counties’ elections filing deadlines, and the provisions of Section 2.04.130 B. are satisfied.
2. Be signed by a number of legal voters equal to or greater than 6 percent of the number of electors registered in the city on the date of the primary municipal election immediately preceding the date the prospective petition is filed, except that a petition signed by 2,000 registered voters shall be sufficient to call a referendum upon any franchise ordinance.
F. Upon acceptance of the petition, the Auditor shall arrange for verification of the validity of the signatures with the County Elections Officers. Verification may be performed by random sampling in a manner approved by the Secretary of the State of Oregon.
G. The Auditor shall complete the verification process within 30 days after receipt of the petition and shall advise a chief petitioner whether the petition qualifies to be submitted to the voters.
H. A date shall be placed on the petition or on a certificate attached to the petition which shows the date the verification process was completed. Measures which qualify for placement on the ballot shall be certified by the Auditor as meeting the requirements of this chapter and shall be submitted to the Council for action as provided by 2.04.100. The Auditor shall certify to the County Elections Offices each measure which qualifies for placement on the ballot, unless the measure has been enacted by the Council.