Oregon may be coming to terms with a popular bone of contention for non-affiliated voters: the primary election process.
Ballot Measure 65 intends to change the way Oregon’s federal, state and local office holders are elected, creating an “open” or “top-two” primary. Long-time voter reform activists say the measure will open the election system for voters from all parties, while opposition groups are fearful the measure could harm smaller political parties.
The unanswered question both sides are wrestling with is: will Measure 65 help or hurt the voters it is trying to incorporate?
The measure allows all eligible residents to vote in the primary election. As it stands now the system in Oregon excludes one in four registered voters from participating in any partisan primary election because they are not registered as members of a party. Mayoral candidate Jim Torrey supports the measure, stating, “it’s the best way I know to incorporate all voters in the state.”
Voters would receive their ballots and vote for one candidate per office in May, regardless of party affiliation. The top two vote-getting candidates would be placed on the general election ballot in November. This system would end the guarantee of every party being on the November ballot, and allow only the top two candidates on the ballot.
Oregon State Representative Mary Nolan opposes the measure. She argues in favor of keeping the primary closed, allowing voters to decide whom each party nominates. She feels a “top-two” primary would make it the role of party bosses to endorse a particular candidate in an effort to assure their party’s nominee is on the November ballot. “I don’t think the party machinery
will want to risk not having their candidates on the ballot, so they will make the decision to endorse one candidate earlier,” Nolan said.
Opponents of the measure worry it could raise the cost and amount of time candidates spend fundraising and gathering support because of earlier pressure on candidates to get elected. Some opponents also worry that not requiring party members to vote for a candidate from their party would allow voters to sabatoge the party they oppose by voting for someone in the primaries they deem unlikely to win the general election.
If passed, the measure would not only regulate the primary process but would also change the design of the ballot. Oregon ballots would be required to identify the political party each candidate has selected on his or her voter registration. However, even if a candidate is registered with a particular party, it does not ensure that party endorses the candidate.
The measure would require that the primary ballot reveal any endorsement by major political parties that have been accepted by the candidate. It would also allow any party to endorse any candidate. Therefore, if a candidate chose to accept a nomination, he or she might have several party endorsements.
The proponents take a nontraditional stance, believing the open primary will benefit smaller parties that could negotiate with major party candidates to earn endorsements, giving them more meaningful roles than their traditional “spoiler” role.
The opponents argue that allowing only the top two candidates on the November ballot disenfranchises the minor parties.
“I agree the system needs change; however, I think Eugene’s independents, Libertarians and Green Party members would be left without someone to vote for,” University student Nikolas Antovich said.
Currently, the state of Oregon has a closed primary system.
The most common way of electing candidates for the major political parties is to choose the nominees during the May primary elections. In order to choose the nominees for major parties, voters must be registered in the corresponding party. Under current law, minor parties choose their nominees but according to the party rules allowed by the Secretary of State’s office, not through primary elections. Candidates not affiliated with a party are also able to enter races by gathering signatures or holding a convention.
Opening the primary in Oregon would create a much different political mood in the state. But voters may have to ask themselves the question: Will this help or hinder the way leadership is elected in the state?
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Measure 65 opens primary
Daily Emerald
October 20, 2008
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