Guest Editorial: Pro-JROTC Forces Submit Ballot Initiative TodayMarc Nortonbyline‚ Jul. 07‚ 2008Supporters of the Pentagon's JROTC program (Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corp) plan to turn in signatures today for their initiative aimed at the November ballot. The initiative asks San Francisco voters to overturn previous landslide votes opposing both military recruiters in our schools and the War in Iraq, and declare itself in favor of the controversial military program. Estimates of the number of signatures the pro-JROTC forces have range from 10,000 to 13,000, according to press reports. The campaign needs about 7,000 valid signatures to qualify. JROTC cadets were heavily involved in the collection of signatures, even though nearly all of the cadets are too young to vote or legally circulate initiative petitions. The Department of Elections will need to look carefully at these petitions during the signature verification process. |