Making progress...

In a hair over two months we'll be running the Citizens' Initiative Review demonstration. The dates are set, Sept 21 -25, as is the location, Salem. The past few weeks have been intense as we move through a couple of important aspects of this project. Here are a few of the tasks we're currently working on.

Earlier this month we began to recruit panelists for the CIR demonstration. At the heart of the Citizens' Initiative Review is the panel of 24 randomly selected registered voters that will do the heavy lifting by learning about and deliberating on a statwide ballot measure over a span of five days. These panelists are selected to fairly represent the demographics of the state. Our goal was to recruit a pool of over 200 potential panelists statewide. Using a combination of direct mail and telephone questionnaires it looks like we will reach that goal next week.

Once the recruitment is complete we'll be moving on to the selecting the panelists for the CIR demo. This event will take place in Salem on 7/29. We're still working out a couple of logistical details, however, the basic plan is to display all of the potential applicants on a grid (a big poster showing the basic demographics of the panelists) and to then select from that grid three panels of 24 individuals. The panel that is deemed to best represent the demographics of the state electorate will be the one chosen for the CIR demonstration.

It's important to note here that potential panelists will only be identified by their demographics, otherwise remaining anonymous. So, for example, if my neighbor had been selected and sent in the questionnaire she would be assigned a number, say 123, and all that would be displayed on the grid would be her age, partisan affiliation, geographic location, gender, educational attainment, and basic ethnicity.

Next up is the process of selecting the measure to be reviewed, which will be done online by a vote of our 40,000+ supporters. We're going to begin the vote after the panel is selected for the CIR demonstration. We're in the process of notifying our supporters by mail and email, so if you've already signed up in support of the CIR, be on the lookout for voting instructions. If you haven't already signed up, and are in support of the CIR, please be sure to do so soon if you would like to participate in the online vote. We're going to start the vote at the tail end of this month.

If you have any questions or would like any additional information, as always, be sure to let us know. We'll keep you posted as events unfold. More to come...

Tyrone Reitman

HDO Co-Director