Oregon Advisory Opinions August 28, 1959: OAG 59-111 (August 28, 1959)

OAG 59-111.

You have requested my opinion as to the base of signatures and the percentage of the base that will be required on a petition for a nonpartisan's petition for nomination to an elective public office in the state.

Your question refers to the nonpartisan offices: Judges, ORS 252.010; Superintendent of Public Instruction, ORS 252.210; county school superintendents, ORS 252.310; and justices of the peace, ORS 252.510. Since the statutes which govern these offices are nearly identical, the conclusions appearing below in respect to judgeships are applicable to all nonpartisan offices.

ORS 252.010 provides as follows:

"Candidates for the offices of judge of the Supreme, circuit and district courts shall be nominated and voted for at primary and general elections as provided in ORS 252.010 to 252.080, and not otherwise."

ORS 252.020 provides as follows:

"Names of all candidates for the offices of judge of the Supreme, circuit and district courts shall be presented for nomination by individual nominating petitions or by declaration of candidacy and payment of the fees as provided by law, subject, however, to the restrictions and provisions of ORS 252.010 to 252.080." (Emphasis supplied)

ORS 252.030 prescribes the contents of petitions and declarations of candidacy as follows:

"* * * Nothing shall be attached to or contained in a petition or declaration of candidacy other than the name of the county in which the candidate resides, a statement, not exceeding 10 words, of his qualifications and experience, and a declaration by the candidate that, if nominated and elected, he will qualify for the office." (Emphasis supplied)

Since the contents of a petition or a declaration of candidacy prescribe no requirement of signatures of electors, no signatures are required. In Franklin v. State Industrial Accident Commission, 202 Or. 237, at p. 241, the court stated as follows:

"It is elementary that when the legislature, in enacting a law, makes use of plain, unambiguous, and understandable language, it is presumed to have intended precisely what its words imply. There is no occasion to go beyond those words and their plain meaning to ascertain by application of rules of statutory construction the legislative purpose."

A convincing indication that the legislature did not intend to require signatures of electors may be found in its use of the term "individual nominating petitions." The Nonpartisan Judiciary Act was enacted in 1931. An examination of the laws pertaining to "petitions" enacted by the Thirty-sixth Legislative Assembly (1931) reveals that the Nonpartisan Judiciary Act alone contains the term "individual nominating petitions." The other Acts referring to "petitions" invariably provide a signature base for the petition.

Because a nominating petition does not require signatures, the distinction between the two methods of nomination to nonpartisan office necessarily arises from ORS 252.020 which requires the "payment of the fees provided by law." By virtue of ORS 252.080 the general election laws apply to nonpartisan offices except where they conflict with a nonpartisan Act. Looking to ORS 249.271 we find a schedule of filing fees for filing a declaration of candidacy. An examination of the general election laws indicates that there is no other provision establishing filing fees for candidates. It may therefore be concluded that the petition method does not require a filing fee.

If it appears anomalous that a candidate may perfect his candidacy by following the petition method which requires no filing fees and no signatures or by following the declaration of candidacy method which requires a filing fee but an otherwise identical procedure, the answer may be found in Patton v. Withycombe, 81 Or. 210.

In Patton v. Withycombe, supra, the plaintiff argued that a filing fee requirement in an election law violated Article II, § 1, of the Oregon Constitution, which commands that "All elections shall be free and equal," and Article I, § 20, guaranteeing "No law shall be passed granting to any citizen or class of citizens privileges, or immunities, which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens." The court stated at page 217 as follows:

"* * * a statute requiring the payment of a reasonable fee places no obstacle or impediment in the way of a person whether he be rich or poor, so long as another method like the one here requiring no fee is open to him, especially when the name of the candidate is printed on the ballot without regard to the method selected. * * *"

It is my opinion that a nonpartisan petition for nomination to an elective

public office of this state does not require the signatures of electors.