Initiative & Referendum Process | Petition Log | Recall Process | Manuals & References
Initiative & Referendum Process
Multnomah County
Petition process is based on Multnomah Co. Charter and Code and differs from the process in the State's manual. Please contact Multnomah County Elections if you have any questions at elections@multco.us Multnomah County petitions are filed with Multnomah County Elections.
- Multnomah County Initiative procedures and Referendum procedures
- Petition signature requirements - Numbers based on total votes for Governor in Multnomah County: 366,043 (Nov 2022)
- Charter amendments initiative: 29,284 (8%)
- Ordinance initiative: 21,963 (6%)
- Referendum: 14,642 (4%)
- Initiative and Referendum Manual (PDF)
- Multnomah County Home Rule Charter (PDF)
- Multnomah County Code - Chapter 5: Elections
Metro
- Metro petition process
Petition process is based on Metro Charter and Code and differs from the process in the State's initiative manual. Metro petitions are filed with Multnomah County Elections and ballot title is written by the Metro Attorney. For more information on the petition process see Title IX 9.02 of the Metro Code. - Signature requirements - Numbers based on total votes for Governor in Metro District (portions of Multnomah, Clackamas & Washington county): 746,463 (Nov. 2022). Metro petitions are filed with Multnomah County Elections.
- Charter amendment by initiative: 59,717 (8%)
- Ordinance by initiative: 44,788 (6%)
- Petition by Referendum: 29,859 (4%)
Special Districts - Community college, School, Water and Fire
- Special District Petition requirements - based on state statutes for type of special district - (Community College, School, Water and Fire). Petitions for Special Districts are filed with the county where the District administrative Headquarters are located.
- For special district initiative and referendum petition numbers, please contact Multnomah County Elections
Other Jurisdictions - state and cities
- State of Oregon - for State of Oregon petitions please contact the Elections Division Oregon Secretary of State's office
- City initiative and referendum petition numbers, please contact the city elections clerk. City petitions are filed with the City Elections/Recorder for each city.
- Link to petition filings City of Portland and State of Oregon
Initiative & Referendum Petition Log
Active Petition Information
- No active petitions
Historical Petition Information
- MultCoInit-09
- 3/3/2022 - Prospective Petition - Eviction Representation for All (258.72 KB)
- 3/17/2022 - Ballot Title and Explanatory Statement - MultCoInit-09 (75.88 KB)
- 3/28/2022 - MultCoInit-09 Ballot Title Challenge (538.53 KB)
- 5/24/2022 - Order granting in part Petition for Different Measure Title and Explanatory statement (3.08 MB)
- 5/26/2022 - MultCoInit-09 Petition - approval letter with attachments.pdf (152.16 KB)
- statement_of_organization.pdf (97.24 KB)
- 11/23/2022 - MultCoInit-09 Petition submitted (34.33 KB)
- 12/22/2022 - Certification of Initiative Petition MultCoInit-09 (38.62 KB)
- MetroInit-03
- 4/12/2022 - MetroInit-03 Prospective petition (91.27 KB)
- 4/14/2022 - Metro Attorney Determination that MetroInit-03 does not meet Constitutional Requirements (130.33 KB)
- 5/23/2022 - Multnomah County Circuit Court Decision (2.79 MB)
- 4/12/2022 - MetroInit-03 Prospective petition (91.27 KB)
- MetroInit-02
- 3/25/2022 - Prospective Petition - Everyone Deserves Safe Shelter (80.2 KB)
- 4/8/2022 - Metro Attorney Determination that MetroInit-02 does not meet Constitutional Requirements (120.56 KB)
- Withdrawal Petition - MetroInit-02 (26.83 KB)
- 3/25/2022 - Prospective Petition - Everyone Deserves Safe Shelter (80.2 KB)
- MultCoInit-08
- 7/22/2020 - Certification of Initiative Petition MulCoInit-08 (70.59 KB)
- 7/6/2020 - MultCoInit-08 petition submitted (52.91 KB)
- 6/22/2020 - Approval letter for circulation MultCoInit-08 with SEL 369 (83.66 KB)
- SEL369_v2.pdf (280.28 KB)
- 6/3/2020 - Approval letter for circulation MultCoInit-08 (83.56 KB)
- SEL369_bw.pdf (2.58 MB)
- SEL348_bw.pdf (3.05 MB)
- SEL371_bw.pdf (1.48 MB)
- 6/1/2020 - Order Granting in part Petition for Different Measure Title and Explanatory Statement (441.32 KB)
- Notice of Ballot Title & Explanatory Statement
- 3/13/2020 - Petition for a Different Ballot Title and Explanatory Statement (757.38 KB)
- 3/4/2020 - MultCoInit-08 Ballot Title and Explanatory Statement (92.67 KB)
- 2/26/2020 - Prospective Petition - 2nd submission - Universal Preschool Now (405.6 KB)
- 3/17/2020 - Amended SEL 370 Prospective Petition (37.99 KB)
- 2/18/2020 - Prospective petition - Universal Preschool Now (411.78 KB)
- 2/26/2020 - Withdrawal Petition - Universal Preschool Now (23.33 KB)
- MultCoInit-07
- 01/08/2018 - Prospective Petition MultCoInit-07 (44.9 KB)
- 01/09/2018 - Notice of Ballot Title and Explanatory Statement - MultCoInit-07
- 01/24/2018 - Approval letter for Circulation - MultCoInit-07 (68.5 KB)
- MultCoinit-06
- 11/30/2017 - Prospective Petition MultCoInit-06 (80.05 KB)
- 12/12/2017 - Notice of Ballot Title and Explanatory Statement - MultCoInit-06
- 12/12/2017 - Amended SEL 370 - MultCoInit-06 (73.5 KB)
- 3/5/2018 - Withdrawal form - MultCoInit-06 (56.46 KB)
- MultCoInit-05
- Prospective Petition MultCoInit-05 (143.09 KB)
- Withdrawal form - MultnCoInit-05 (37.19 KB)
- MultCoInit-04
- 4/3/2017 - Prospective Petition MultCoInit-04 (331.81 KB)
- 4/13/2017 - MultCoInit-04 Ballot Title and Explanatory Statement (106.77 KB) - Ballot title and explanatory statement received from County Attorney's Office.
- Notice of Multnomah Co Initiative Ballot Title & Explanatory Statement - MultCoInit-04
- 04/25/2017 - Challenge #1 to ballot title & explanatory statement - MultCoInit-04 (512.81 KB)
- 05/04/2017 - Response to ballot title challenge - MultCoInit-04 (321.77 KB)
- 6/08/2017 - SEL 307 and amended SEL 370 - MultCoInit-04 (65.19 KB)
- 6/13/2017 - Amended SEL 370 MultCoInit-04 2017-06-13 (38.42 KB)
- 6/15/2017 - Order denying petitioners challenge to the ballot title & explanatory statement for initiative MultCoInit-04 (209.13 KB)
- 6/20/2017 - Approval letter for Circulation - MultCoInit-04 (69.67 KB)
- MultCoInit-03
- 6/7/2016 - Prospective Petition MultCoInit-03 (302.68 KB)
- Amended Prospective Petition MultCoInit-03 (433.1 KB)
- 6/17/2016 - Notice of Ballot Title & Explanatory Statement for MultCoInit-03
- 6/29/2016 - Challenge #1 to ballot title & explanatory statement - MultCoInit-03 (346.75 KB)
- 6/29/2016 - Challenge #2 to ballot title & explanatory statement - MultCoInit-03 (789.7 KB)
- 8/1/2016 - Initiative Ballot Title Decision by Judge Nelson (804.23 KB)
- 3/1/2017 - Withdrawal form SEL 375 - MultCoInit-03 (53.04 KB)
- 6/7/2016 - Prospective Petition MultCoInit-03 (302.68 KB)
- MultCoInit-02
- 5/10/2016 - Prospective Petition MultCoInit-02 (448.24 KB)
- 5/20/2016 - Ballot Title & Explanatory Statement - MultCoInit-02 (21.64 KB)
- 6/03/2016 - Approval letter for Circulation with forms - MultCoInit-02 (196.18 KB)
- MultCoInit-01
- 04/23/2015 - Prospective Initiative Petition Filing (145.77 KB)
- 05/06/2015 - Ballot Title & Explanatory Statement for Initiative Petition MultCoInit-01 (101.59 KB)
- 06/02/2015 - Approval Letter for Circulation MultCoInit-01 (71.67 KB)
- Circulation Forms MultCoInit-01 (163.04 KB)
- Amended Circulation Forms - MultCoInit-01 (170.81 KB)
- MultCoInit-01 Withdrawal (27.69 KB)
- MultCoRef-01 (Multnomah County Referendum)
- 12/23/2013 - Prospective Referendum Petition Filing (1.72 MB) filed.
- 12/31/2013 - Determination Letter 12-31-2013 (30.5 KB) sent to petitioner.
- 01/07/2014 - Stipulated order - MultCoRef-01 (32.99 KB) signed.
- 01/08/2014 - Circulation Approval Letter MultCoRef-01 (38.18 KB) sent to petitioner for prospective referendum MultCoRef-01
- 03/03/2014 - Referendum decision MultCoRef-01 by Judge Bloch (982.09 KB)
- 7/29/2015 - Appeal dismissed by Court of Appeals
- Metro Init-01 (Metro Initiative)
- Prospective Petition - The Local College Affordability Measure - received 1/29/2016
- Ballot Title & Explanatory Statement - submitted by Metro Attorney 2/12/2016
- Ballot Title & Explanatory Statement for Initiative Petition MetroInit-01 (25.33 KB)
- Notice of Ballot Title & Explanatory Statement
- Ballot Challenge #1 - Ballot Title (1.71 MB) / Ballot Challenge #1 - Explanatory Statement (1.77 MB)- filed with Multnomah County Circuit Court on 2/24/2016 related to ballot language.
- Ballot Challenge #2 (271.16 KB) - filed with Multnomah County Circuit Court on 2/24/2016 related to single subject determination.
- Notice of Ballot Title & Explanatory Statement
- Circulation approval letter for Metro Init-01 (22.48 KB)
- Related documents for Metro Init-01 (412.99 KB)
- Ballot Title & Explanatory Statement for Initiative Petition MetroInit-01 (25.33 KB)
Recall Petition Process
A public officer in an elective office may be recalled, whether elected or appointed. This is done by filing a prospective recall petition with the appropriate Elections official. City recall petitions are filed with the City Elections official. County, Metro and other Special District recall petitions located in Multnomah County are filed with Multnomah County Elections.
The prospective petition may be filed if the public office holder has served at least six months of the current term of office. The signature requirement is 15% of the total number of votes cast in the public officer’s electoral district for all candidates for Governor at the last election at which a candidate for Governor was elected to a full term. The Chief Petitioner has 90 days from filing the prospective to collect and turn in those signatures.
Review the Campaign Finance Manual for recall reporting requirements.
- Recall Manual (PDF)
- Online Prospective Recall Petition Form (SEL 350)
Multnomah County Recall Petition Signature Requirements (15% votes cast for Governor - Nov. 2022)
- Chair, Sheriff and Auditor - 54,907
- Commissioner Dist. 1 - 15,936
- Commissioner Dist. 2 - 15,746
- Commissioner Dist. 3 - 12,764
- Commissioner Dist. 4 - 10,462
Petition Signature Requirements for other Districts
- For special district recall petition numbers, please contact Multnomah County Elections.
- For city recall petition numbers, please contact the city elections clerk.
- For state office petition numbers, please contact the Oregon Secretary of State's office.
Recall Petition Log
Active Petition Information
- No active petitions
Historical Petition Information
- MultcoRecall 2024-01
- 4/30/2024 - Prospective recall petition filed - MultcoRecall 2024-01 (336.27 KB)
- MultcoRecall 2021-01
- 9/30/2021 - Prospective recall petition filed - MultCoRecall_2021-01 (304.65 KB)
- 10/1/2021 - Approval letter for petition circulation - Petition_approval_MultCoRecall2021-01.pdf (73.33 KB)
Manuals and References
Manuals
State Manuals - All of the manuals published by the Elections Division are available online.
Forms
Election forms - available from Oregon Secretary of State's office
References
- Multnomah County Charter
- Multnomah County Code - Elections
- ORS 255 - Special District Elections & Administrative Rules for Initiative, Referendum and Recall
- Oregon Constitution
- Metro Charter & Code
- Links to City charter/code: Fairview, Gresham, Lake Oswego, Maywood Park, Portland, Troutdale and Wood Village.