In The News 
Eminent domain issue pushed
After several failed attempts to get an eminent domain bill through the Legislature, pro-property rights groups want to take the issue to the people. The Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation has launched a petition drive to get an initiative on the November 2011 ballot that would limit eminent domain to direct public use, meaning the property would not be taken and given to a business.
Only a few ballot initiatives look to qualify for Oregon ballot this November
For once, it doesn't look as if Oregon's tax structure will be decided by a ballot measure. Despite Oregon's long history of turning to direct Democracy to settle political fights, the state's ballot looks to be the most uncrowded in years. With the exception of a measure to expand medical marijuana, the handful of petitions being circulated are mostly minor measures unlikely to set off expensive, multimillion-dollar campaigns.
Electronic petition signature-gathering off to a shaky start
A Silicon Valley startup is looking to give the clipboard-and-paper strategy for collecting petition signatures a 21st century makeover. Verafirma is promoting technology to collect and verify signatures for initiative petitions using smart phone devices, such as iPhones and Google Droids, iPod Touches and computers.
Little-known June ballot measure could alter state political landscape
Toward the end of the June primary ballot, voters will be asked to weigh in on Proposition 15, a measure that has gotten little attention but could transform the landscape of California politics. Proposition 15 has a seemingly modest goal: a pilot program that would make the 2014 and 2018 secretary of state elections publicly financed and ask candidates to forgo political contributions and adhere to strict spending limits.
Mississippi voters to decide when life begins
Abortion foes have secured enough signatures on a petition to get an initiative on the 2011 ballot to define life as beginning at the point of conception Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann announced today that petitioners gathered 106,325 signatures — well over the 89,285 needed to get the initiative on the general election ballot. Voters will decide whether a “person” should be defined as any life “from the point of fertilization, cloning or equivalent thereof.”
‘Egg-as-Person’ Makes Colorado Ballot, While Prospects in Florida and Nevada Remain Unclear
The beat goes on for a band of absolutist anti-choice advocates who are pushing to legally define "personhood" as beginning at the moment of conception. The ballot measure is the brainchild of ultra-conservative Christians and is intended to confer civil rights protections to "zygote Americans" in state constitutions.
Gov. Gary Herbert signs controversial signature-removal bill
Ethics initiative organizers on Monday accused Gov. Gary Herbert of seeking to "stymie citizen participation" after he signed a bill that will make it easier to remove petition signatures. Herbert signed the controversial bill Saturday, despite a plea from initiative supporters calling on him to veto the legislation. Citizen-initiative advocates predict the law will result in campaigns to harass petition-signers, as opponents try to persuade them to remove their signatures.
Maine initiative reform approved
Concerns about the integrity of Maine's ballot initiative process have prompted action on a bill to tighten the requirements for organizations behind petition campaigns. The House on Monday agreed with the Senate and approved a measure requiring businesses that receive compensation for circulating petitions to register with the Secretary of State.
Colorado to vote on anti-abortion initiative in November
The Colorado Secretary of State's Office has confirmed that Personhood USA submitted enough valid signatures to put a ballot initiative into November's statewide elections. The Colorado-based organization has submitted an anti-abortion initiative that would ban abortions statewide. The initiative, which will appear as Amendment 62 on the ballot, would provide "definition of person" question.
Eminent domain changes for Missouri unlikely to be filed
Missouri constitutional amendments restricting eminent domain are unlikely to be submitted for this November's ballot because backers say lawsuits challenging the measures took too long to resolve. "We have not officially thrown in the towel, but we have effectively thrown it in," said Ron Calzone, chairman of Missouri Citizens for Property Rights. Calzone said it is frustrating not to get the measures on the ballot, because he believes most Missourians would support reining in eminent domain.
