The Independent Party is a ballot-qualified party in Oregon. It has 54,920 registered members, which is 2.7% of the number of registered voters in the state. Oregon only holds primaries for parties with registration membership of 5% or more. This year, the major party primaries were on May 18.
Because the Independent Party has so many members, it is not nominating by convention or caucus this year. Instead, it is holding its own primary, at its own expense, via the internet. The party is sending a postal letter to every member, giving him or her a unique ID number. That number can then be used by that voter to vote in the party’s on-line primary during July. For more information about the process, see the party’s web page at http://indparty.com.
Because Oregon legalized fusion last year, the party has many contested primaries. For Governor, the party has a 3-candidate race: two members of the Independent Party (Jerry Wilson and Richard Esterman), and the Democratic nominee, John Kitzhaber. For U.S. House in the 3rd district, the Independent Party primary is between the Green Party nominee and the Libertarian Party nominee. For the 4th and 5th districts, the Independent Party primary is between the Democratic and Republican nominees. For all state and federal offices combined, there are 77 candidates in the party’s primary.
On June 22 the Secretary of State rejected a complaint by the Democratic Party that the Independent Party’s nomination procedures are unlawful.
The Independent Party was founded in 2005 by supporters of Ralph Nader, and others, who were frustrated that in 2005, the Oregon legislature passed a bill that made it far more difficult for independent candidates to get on the ballot. That 2005 law was repealed in 2009. It said that primary voters could not sign independent candidate petitions.
Does the Progressive Party of Oregon have any candidates this year?
The Progressive Party is (I believe) currently preoccupied with getting its registration up to the minimum required for it to remain on the ballot. I think there won’t be any nominating convention for the Progressive Party until the party handles the registration problem.
The Oregon Independent Party – like the New York Independence Party – is well on its way to becoming the “balance of power” party in Oregon. Too bad, Libertarians, Greens, Constitutionalists and other 3rd parties don’t get it.
Only when 3rd parties awake from their stupor, and work for “fusion” and “co-nomination” laws such as in Oregon and New York State, they will contine to lose, and have little or no influence on the election outcomes. I have little sympathy for such parties. They know better, but are too “hard-headed” to wake up and accept it.
La de da. They have the balance of power (they don’t but let’s say for the sake of argument they do). Now what are they going to do with this influence? Push their agenda of…they have no agenda. They don’t stand for anything. They’ve supported both Ralph Nader and Republican candidates.
When I vote for a third party, I vote for them because I like their views (which is impossible with these Independence parties that have none) not because of some pathological hatred of the two party system (as bad as it may be).
To “bolshevik-leninist”: What good does it accomplish for you to “…vote for them because I like their views…” when they have no chance of getting elected? You say the Independence Party of New York has no agenda? Where have you been? Go look at their website. It reads: “To create a new and independent reform movement of New Yorkers from all walks of life…” That IS their agenda, Mr. “bolshevik-leninist.” What part about that don’t you understand?
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See the Oregon constitution with its very dormant P.R. language.