Final signatures delivered for pro-gun initiative
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One day after sponsors of a gun-control initiative turned in their second and final batch of signatures to our Elections Division, supporters of a competing gun measure submitted one more box of signatures Friday afternoon.
Sponsors of Initiative 591 delivered what they said were 5,000 signatures Friday after submitting about 340,000 signatures in late November. The measure, filed last May, would prohibit government agencies from confiscating guns or other firearms from citizens without due process, or from requiring background checks on firearm recipients unless a uniform national standard is required.
As we blogged earlier, I-594 sponsors Thursday delivered what they noted were about 95,000 signatures. This follows the estimated 250,000 sigs they submitted in early October. I-594, filed last June, requires universal background checks on gun purchases.
Both initiatives surpassed the minimum number of 246,372 valid voter signatures needed to be sent to the Legislature this winter. Our Elections Division recommends that initiative sponsors submit at least 325,000 signatures to provide a cushion to cover duplicate or invalid signatures. The average error rate is 18 percent.
Friday was the last day to submit signatures for initiatives to the 2014 Legislature.
Elections Division officials plan to begin a signature check on I-594 Jan. 10 that will take six working days to finish. Signature checkers then will start reviewing I-591. Elections Division officials say I-594 will undergo a signature check first because its signature petition sheets were submitted before the I-591 sheets were turned in. Officials anticipate both measures have enough signatures to conduct a 3 percent random sample check instead of having to check all of the submitted signatures.
If validated, the two measures would go to the 2014 Legislature, which could approve either or both measures as submitted, ignore or reject them and allow them to go to the 2014 General Election ballot, or write legislative alternatives that would accompany the initiatives to the ballot.
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Secretary of State
Steve Hobbs
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