Lane County Republicans raise concerns over IP28 signature gatherers

A Lane County petition fight over hunting, fishing and farming has shifted from the ballot language to the people carrying it. Republicans in the county are raising concerns about noncitizens collecting signatures for IP28, but the measure is still waiting on state verification before it can reach voters.

The petition, officially called the PEACE Act, short for People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions, had collected 126,115 signatures when it was submitted to the Oregon Secretary of State on May 29, 2026. That was above the 117,173 valid signatures required for a statutory initiative, but Oregon officials still must verify the signatures before the measure can qualify for the November 2026 ballot. State law sets that threshold at 6% of the votes cast for governor in the last election.

What is documented so far is the signature total and the verification process. What remains an allegation in the political fight is the claim that noncitizens are gathering signatures. That charge has resonated in Oregon after state officials said in 2024 that 1,259 possible noncitizens had been mistakenly registered to vote since 2021, even though noncitizens are prohibited from voting under state and federal law.

IP28 would go far beyond an animal-rights slogan, opponents say. The measure would remove exemptions that now protect hunting, fishing, trapping, farming, wildlife management, scientific research, pest control and livestock slaughter from Oregon’s animal-cruelty laws. The Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon Hunters Association, Sportsmen’s Alliance and Oregon Cattlemen’s Association have all lined up against it, warning that the proposal could reach deep into Oregon’s beef industry, fishing industry and research at public universities.

The campaign has described IP28 as the latest version of earlier efforts filed as IP13 and IP3. That history, combined with the citizenship debate now circulating in Lane County, gives local voters another reason to read the petition closely before signing. The measure is still only a proposal until the Secretary of State finishes verification, but if it advances, the consequences could be felt far beyond Salem in hunting camps, on family farms and across the rural economies that depend on them.