Signature Scrutiny Rocks Portland Ballot | Portland News

Portland News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jul 28, 2026 · 2m

Tensions rise as the Secretary of State warns of a potential crisis in Portland’s ballot initiative process, where a controversial plan to redirect climate tax funds to hire more police officers faces scrutiny over signature verification. With only 63% of sampled signatures deemed valid — falling short of the legal threshold — Safer Portland accuses city officials of systematically discarding signatures and hiding behind opaque procedures. The Secretary of State, Tobias Read, publicly expresses alarm that this could fuel broader distrust in elections, urging the City Auditor to demand full…