Members of the Independent Party testified on behalf of initiative rights at two hearings before the Senate Committee on Elections and Ethics last week. The bill they testified on will bring signature verification for initiative petitions that is currently being conducted by Oregon's County Clerks into the Secretary of State's office. Their testimony focussed on the rights of valid electors whose names are wrongly excluded during the state's signature verification process and on allowing petitioners to remove duplicate names from petition sheets prior to turn-in to the Secretary of State.

Although the bill moved forward without the amendments offered by Independents, one of the two issues was resolved when the Secretary of State pledged to allow petitioners to remove duplicates and invalid addresses, reversing an earlier position taken by that office.