PORTLAND (AP) - A federal appeals court panel Wednesday upheld Oregon's voter-passed ban on paying gatherers by the signature on initiative and referendum petitions, saying any minor free speech issues were outweighed by a greater benefit.

“This decision affirms Oregon voters' judgment that we need to restore confidence in our initiative and referendum system,” said Secretary of State Bill Bradbury.

By a three-to-one margin, voters passed the ban as Measure 26 in the 2002 general election. The challenge was filed by the nonprofit Tigard-based Oregonians in Action.

In addition to free speech issues, opponents of the measure argued that it essentially restricted the signature-gathering process to labor unions and other large organizations that could afford to pay by the hour or by the day.

In February 2004, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken upheld the measure against those who said it violated free speech provisions of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Aiken said the “limited burdens imposed by Measure 26 are far outweighed by (the) need to protect the integrity of the electoral process and to restore the public's confidence in its government.”

Further, the judge said opponents of the signature-gathering restriction “fail to present persuasive evidence that Measure 26 imposes severe or substantial burdens on the circulation of initiative and referendum petitions.”

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed, saying the measure “results in higher validity rates for signature collection,” and that Oregon “has an important regulatory interest in preventing fraud and its appearances in its electoral processes.”

It added that “Measure 26 is aimed at combating actual instances of fraud and forgery committed by petition circulators paid on the basis of the number of signature gathered.”