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Anti-fracking measures fail to make November ballot

Proponents fall under threshold for valid signatures
Two ballot proposals that would have cracked down on fracking and the oil and gas industry failed to make the November ballot. Proponents have 30 days to appeal the decision. Some have alleged a bias within the secretary of state’s office and unfair opposition practices by the industry. But industry stakeholders say Coloradans are just acting with “great common sense.”

DENVER – Two anti-fracking measures did not make the November ballot because proponents failed to gather the necessary valid signatures.

The secretary of state’s office announced Monday that the two initiatives fell below the threshold for valid signatures based on a random sampling.

It is standard procedure for the office to first assess a random sampling of signatures.

Proponents left themselves with little room for error, as they submitted just 107,232 signatures for one measure and 106,626 for the other.

It takes 98,492 valid signatures to make the ballot.

The secretary of state’s office also flagged possible fraudulent activity in the effort, as one of the initiatives was submitted with a petition section that contains “several potentially forged signature lines,” according to the office.

The office has referred the section to the attorney general for investigation.

Proponents can appeal the decision not to certify the initiatives. They have 30 days to file a lawsuit in Denver District Court.

Oil and gas industry stakeholders applauded Colorado voters for not backing the proposals, suggesting that anti-fracking sentiment is waning in Colorado.

“Once again, Coloradans have shown great common sense in rejecting extreme ideas,” said Diane Schwenke, with Coloradans for Responsible Reform, which helped guide opposition efforts. “The proponents could not get anywhere near the number of signatures they needed. This sends a strong message that Coloradans do not appreciate out-of-state activists advocating measures in our state.”

One measure would have allowed local governments to overstep the state’s authority in regulating oil and gas activity, including banning hydraulic fracturing.

The effort came after the Colorado Supreme Court in May ruled that local governments cannot enact rules and regulations more stringent than the state.

The other initiative would have increased setbacks of wells from 500 feet to 2,500 feet, thereby putting 95 percent of land in the top five oil-and-gas-producing counties in Colorado off limits. La Plata County would have become almost completely barred from development, as 99.6 percent of land would have been prohibited.

Proponents suspected a bias in Republican Secretary of State Wayne Williams’ office. The controversy kicked off on Aug. 9 when Lynn Bartels, a spokeswoman for Williams, issued a tweet shortly after proponents submitted signatures.

“Proponents of fracking measures turned in lots of boxes with very few petitions in them. #copolitics,” read the tweet. Bartels included a photo of the boxes.

Proponents said it was inappropriate for Bartels to jump to conclusions, and they alleged political undertones.

Bartels explained that ballot certification is conducted by an office within the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration, not the secretary of state’s office, ensuring a fair process.

“I said all along that we have no idea whether initiative 75 and 78 make the ballot until they are tabulated by another state agency,” Bartels said. “The idea that we would somehow alter or change the process is ludicrous.”

Proponents framed the battle as a “David and Goliath” fight, in which the oil and gas industry was Goliath. They said the industry employed counter canvassers to compete with proponents as they collected signatures.

Proponents said they were up against a $15 million opposition campaign.

“The signature-gathering process this time around was a grass-roots effort. We were wildly outspent and mostly operating under volunteer power,” said Lisa Trope, an organizer with Food and Water Watch, which led efforts for proponents.

“With the millions spent by the oil and gas industry going as far as using protesters and harassment to stop the signature gathering, it made it very difficult in the last month for us to gather signatures. The campaign and volunteers had to be often dealing with this instead of being able to have conversations with people about signing.”

pmarcus@durangoherald.com

Aug 29, 2016
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