Never underestimate the wisdom of Oregon voters. That is a guiding premise behind an experiment in having a group of citizens critique proposed ballot measures.

The Oregon Senate approved the proposal, sending House Bill 2895 to Gov. Ted Kulongoski for his signature.

As a pilot project, it would authorize a panel of randomly chosen citizens to review one to three initiatives on the 2010 ballot. Those citizens would meet for several days, look at the pros and cons of a measure, and write an evaluation for inclusion in the Oregon Voters Pamphlet.

The concept is that voters can make better decisions when they have straightforward, unbiased information from a source they can trust: their fellow Oregonians.

The Voters Pamphlet has grown so thick with pro and con arguments for initiatives that it routinely requires two volumes.

Sorting through that maze of information and argumentation can be a confusing.

This is the kind of experiment in citizen democracy Oregonians tend to embrace: It's not telling them how to vote; it's giving them more information on which to base their vote. And it tests the concept on a small scale.

If evaluations show the pilot project was fruitful, the "citizens initiative review" could substantially improve Oregon's election process.

(Salem) Statesman Journal