Secretary of State Tobias Read sent a letter to the Portland city auditor on Tuesday demanding greater rigor after backers of a controversial initiative petition leveled a bevy of allegations against the city over its signature verification process.
“What I have seen in recent days regarding the 1PDX2026 initiative signature verification process reflects poorly on our state’s entire election system,” Read wrote to City Auditor Simone Rede. “I have seen complaints about a lack of transparency with stakeholders and the public, which especially concerns me. It is clear there has been a breakdown somewhere in this process.”
The backers of a ballot initiative that would reroute city climate tax revenues to hire more police officers had asked state elections officials to assume control of the signature verification process, citing a number of irregularities. Read stopped short of that, or of threatening any action…