protections
Laurie Grooman of Newberg, Oregon has “Seen the Elephant,” so to speak, when it comes to being a paid signature gatherer for Voice of the Electorate. Arrested 3 times in 2012 after refusing to stop signature collecting in public places, Grooman is now filing suit against the city of Hillsboro for her arrest in May of that year. At that public event held at a recreational complex, other advocates were present to witness her arrest while petitioning for Oregon’s Ballot Measure 84.
“It’s a blatant civil rights violation,” Grooman’s attorney Ross A. Day says. “What she was doing was engaging in protected speech.”