Ron, you're right about the electorate having changed, with a large number of retired people moving in from Southern California.
             The thinking people of Oregon do, in fact, not sign such petitions, but it only takes a certain number of signatures to get these issues on the ballot. Then, once the issue is on the ballot, the public is bombarded with wall to wall advertising from the well funded, out-of-state trouble makers until the election is over.
             Oregon, as you can well imagine, is not a very expensive media market, especially everything south of Eugene. So their money goes a long way compared to places like New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and California. Portland is a little more spendy, and they usually lose in the more densely populated areas of the state, but all they need is a majority state-wide to win.