BY SARAH ROSS

SALEM- Two initiative petition signature gatherers were indicted Wednesday on charges of making false statements in violation of election law.

The paid signature gatherers, Mia Baggenstos and Kelvin Moore, were gathering signatures for Initiative Petition 70, which would allocate lottery funds for water, parks, and wildlife.

Baggenstos was indicted in Multnomah County, where she faces six counts of making a false statement by certifying signatures for six people who were deceased at the time the signatures were collected in April. Additionally, she faces one count of Aggravated Identity Theft.

Moore was also indicted in Multnomah County, facing similar charges of making a false statement. He has been accused of certifying signatures for people who were not qualified voters and allowing signatures to be collected by a person who was not authorized to do so.

“Voters need to have faith in the integrity of our election process,” said Attorney General John Kroger in a joint statement to the press on Thursday. “These crimes will be prosecuted aggressively.”

In that same statement, Secretary of State Kate Brown turned to her commitment to “crack down on fraud and abuse in the initiative process.”

“These indictments reveal how critical it is that we take a proactive approach to protect our elections and restore Oregonians’ faith in the initiative system,” stated Brown.

Deputy Secretary of State Barry Pack told the Oregon Politico that since these signatures in question were not included in the group which was verified by the Secretary of State’s office, the initiative will still be on the ballot and will not be affected by the outcome of this prosecution.