The Citizens’ Initiative Review is a reform to Oregon’s initiative process that provides voters with clear, useful, and trustworthy evaluations of statewide ballot measures.

With the Citizens’ Initiative Review voters will have a powerful new tool to sort through even the toughest questions about ballot measures.

The Citizens' Initiative Review is a citizen-based review process for statewide ballot measures.  For each Review, a panel of 24 Oregon voters is brought together from across the state to learn about, and publicly evaluate a measure on the ballot. These 24 Oregon voters are selected at random, and then demographically balanced to fairly represent a cross-section of the entire state electorate. This panel participates in balanced hearings where campaign advocates and policy experts present the arguments and facts about the measure.

After several days of testimony and deliberation, the panelists draft a “Citizens’ Statement”—detailing the most important arguments and facts about the measure, as well as reporting how many panelists support or oppose the measure. The “Citizens’ Statement” is then published as a prominent new page in the voters’ pamphlet. These findings would be highlighted next to the explanatory information about the ballot measure in the statewide Voters' Pamphlet -- providing a clear, useful, and trustworthy new source of informatio n it every voter in Oregon. An extensive, and easily searchable, public archive of the evaluation is also established online.

Healthy Democracy Oregon’s goal is for the Citizens’ Initiative Review to become an ongoing public service for Oregon voters provided by the State of Oregon.

Click here to learn more about the Citizens’ Initiative Review
Click here to learn more about the 2010 pilot of the Citizens’ Initiative Review