Oregon
Registered circulators, hourly pay only, and statistical sampling.
Oregon runs one of the most heavily regulated petition systems in the country. Paying anyone by the signature is a crime, every paid circulator must register with the Secretary of State and complete state training, and sheets gathered by paid circulators must be turned in on a monthly schedule rather than held until the deadline. The compliance overhead, not the raw signature count, is what usually decides whether an Oregon drive succeeds.
Signature Requirements
| Office / Measure | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Statewide partisan (Governor, US Senate, state executive) | Major-party primary: the lesser of 1,000 signatures or 2% of that party's presidential-elector vote, including at least 100 signers registered in each congressional district. Fee alternative: $150 (US Senate) or $100. |
| US Representative (major party primary) | Lesser of 1,000 signatures or 2% of the party's presidential-elector vote in the district; $100 fee alternative. |
| State Senator or Representative | Lesser of 500 signatures or 2% of the party's presidential-elector vote in the district; $25 fee alternative. |
| Nonpartisan statewide (judges, Labor Commissioner) | Lesser of 1,000 signatures or 1% of the statewide vote for Governor, with at least 100 signers in each congressional district; fee alternative $50–$100. |
| Nonpartisan district (circuit judge, district attorney) | Lesser of 500 signatures or 1% of the district vote for Governor. |
| Nonaffiliated / independent candidates | Signatures equal to 1% of the district vote for President at the last presidential election, or nomination by an Assembly of Electors — 1,000 electors statewide, 500 for US House, 250 for a legislative seat. |
| Initiated constitutional amendment | 8% of the vote for Governor at the last gubernatorial election — 156,231 for the 2024 and 2026 cycles (2022 base). |
| Initiated statute | 6% of that same base — 117,173 for the 2024 and 2026 cycles. |
| Statewide referendum | 4% of that same base — 78,116 for the 2024 and 2026 cycles; due within 90 days of legislative adjournment. |
Paid Circulators Must Register First
Under ORS 250.048 nobody may be paid to gather signatures on a state petition unless they have registered with the Elections Division, completed the state's circulator training, and cleared a criminal records check. Convictions for fraud, forgery or identity theft within the prior five years are disqualifying, as are past petition-law civil penalties. Signatures collected by an unregistered paid circulator are simply not counted, and a registered circulator may not collect paid and volunteer signatures at the same time.
No Pay Per Signature
Oregon prohibits compensation that is based on or contingent upon the number of signatures obtained. Circulators can be paid hourly or salaried, and quotas that function as piece rates invite enforcement. Every signature sheet must also disclose whether it was circulated by a paid or a volunteer circulator, and the two categories cannot be mixed on one sheet.
Filing Windows and the Monthly Turn-In
Initiative sponsors file a prospective petition backed by 1,000 sponsorship signatures to trigger the ballot title process, then have until roughly early July of the election year to file. Referendum petitions get only 90 days after the Legislature adjourns. ORS 250.105 separately requires chief petitioners to file paid-circulator sheets on a monthly schedule; sheets held past their month are not accepted.
Verification by Statistical Sampling
The Elections Division does not hand-check every signature. It draws a first sample of 1,000 signatures, and if that does not resolve the question it draws a second sample sized so the combined total is at least 5% of all accepted signatures. By statute a petition cannot be rejected for insufficiency unless two separate samplings both show it short, and no count happens at all until at least 100% of the required signatures have been filed.
What Kills a Signature or a Sheet
A signature fails if the signer was not an active registered voter in the correct district on the date of signing, if it does not match the registration record, if the signer signed twice, or — on a major-party candidate petition — if the signer is not a member of that party. Sheet-level defects are worse: a missing, illegible or misdated circulator certification, a crossed-out circulator signature, or white-out on a signature line is treated as incurable and can void the whole sheet.
Ballot Measures in Oregon
Oregon offers a direct initiative for both statutes and constitutional amendments plus a popular referendum. Sponsors file a prospective petition, gather 1,000 sponsorship signatures to start the ballot title process, then circulate against thresholds set as a percentage of the last gubernatorial vote: 8% for a constitutional amendment (156,231 for 2024 and 2026), 6% for a statute (117,173), and 4% for a referendum (78,116). Initiative signatures are due roughly four months before the general election; referendum sponsors get only 90 days after adjournment. Measures must carry the full text, meet the single-subject rule, and be legislative rather than administrative in character; constitutional measures must amend rather than revise. Electronic signature sheets that voters print and mail themselves exist, but circulators may not use them to gather signatures in the field.
What Trips Campaigns Up in Oregon
We've Worked This Ground
Oregon Ballot Access FAQ
Can I pay circulators in Oregon?
Yes, but only by the hour or on salary. Any compensation tied to the number of signatures collected is prohibited, and the person being paid must be registered with the Secretary of State and trained before collecting a single paid signature.
Do circulators have to live in Oregon?
Oregon does not impose a residency or voter-registration requirement on circulators generally. Paid circulators, however, must register with the state, complete training, and pass a criminal records check.
Is there a cure period after signatures are filed?
No. Sheet defects can be fixed before submission, but once a petition is filed the campaign cannot add signatures or repair certifications. The protection is procedural instead: a petition cannot be declared short unless two separate samplings both show it failing.
How many signatures should we collect above the minimum?
Plan on a substantial cushion. Because verification is by sample and invalidity rates on paid drives commonly run 15–25%, most Oregon campaigns target 130–140% of the legal threshold.
Running a Campaign in This State?
Signature requirements are the easy part. Hitting them on deadline is the job.