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--> --> Group hopes to stop petition fraud PORTLAND (AP) - A group dedicated to preventing fraud on statewide ballot initiative petitions has the backing of some unions that say they are tired of fighting off measures aimed at their interests. The Voter Education Project started this fall. Its members videotape signature-gatherers, distribute fliers urging voters to think before they sign a petition and operate an 800 number to take reports of signature-gathering fraud. In the past five years, unions have faced more than a dozen measures that targeted their political fund-raising and tried to reduce state government. The unions say invalid signatures help put some of those proposals on the ballot. "We just want it to be a fair fight," said Patty Wentz, group spokeswoman. "We want to make sure they get on the ballot honorably, without cheating, without fraud." Don McIntire and Bill Sizemore, whose anti-tax and small-government initiatives have angered unions, say that most signature-gatherers are law-abiding and that labor organizers are just trying to discourage voters from signing petitions. Last year, unions spent more than $7 million in defeating five measures by Sizemore and McIntire proposing tax cuts, a spending limit and restrictions on unions' political fund-raising. Members and supporters of the Voter Education Project say they can save money by putting pressure on petitioners now, instead spending millions on campaigns later. In September, the Voter Education Project sent letters to some stores reminding them that they did not have to allow signature-gatherers on their property. At the Lloyd Center mall in Portland, the group videotaped Paul Frankel, 29, while he collected signatures for initiatives, including ones by McIntire and Sizemore. It turned over information about Frankel to state authorities. On Nov. 19, authorities charged Frankel in Multnomah County Circuit Court with forging signatures on petition sheets. He has pleaded not guilty. Associated Press Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing