NOTE: THIS PAGE IS NOT COMPLETE.
How are government leaders elected?
Here’s how elections will change for the offices covered by the Reform Act: U.S. Senator, Representative in Congress, Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Commissioner of Labor and Industries, Oregon Senator, Oregon Representative, and partisan offices at lower levels of government.
How are candidates nominated for the general election ballot?
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Today . . . Major party voters (Democratic, Republican) nominate their candidates through publicly funded, publicly administered primaries. Minor party voters and candidates (i.e., Independent, Libertarian, Working Families, Pacific Green, Constitution, Progressive) are excluded from public primaries. Minor parties nominate their candidates via nominating conventions or other methods, without public funding. Major and minor party nominees automatically receive a spot on the general election ballot. Non-affiliated voters and candidates are excluded from public primaries. Non-affiliated candidates must gather a large number of petition signatures or hold an assembly of electors to make the general election ballot, without public funding. |
With Our Reform . . . All candidates, regardless of party affiliation or non affiliation, compete together on the same public primary ballot. All registered voters are allowed to vote in all candidate primaries, regardless of their party affiliation or non-affiliation. They may choose any candidate for any office on their primary ballot, or write in a candidate for any office. Party affiliation will no longer determine who can run, who can vote, and who voters can choose in primaries. The top 5 vote-earners in each primary race advance to the general election ballot. There is no restriction on the number of nominees associated with a particular party. There is also no guarantee that a party’s candidate(s) will make the general election ballot. |
Who is on the publicly funded primary ballot?
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Today . . . Major party candidates only: Democrats on the Democratic Party ballot and Republicans on the Republican party ballot. |
With Our Reform . . . All candidates, whether affiliated with a party or unaffiliated. |
Who can vote on that ballot?
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Today . . . Members of major parties only. Major parties can choose to allow non-affiliated voters to vote in their primaries, but they almost never do. And when they do, the process for the non-affiliated voters is cumbersome and time-consuming and must be done well in advance of the election. |
With Our Reform . . . All registered voters, whether affiliated with a party or unaffiliated. |