The Oregon House Interim Committee on Rules has introduced many bills that affect minor parties and independent candidates. HB 2428 would eliminate fusion. Several parties could still nominate a candidate, but the candidate could only have one party label on the ballot. The candidate would choose which party label to use.
HB 2442, and also SB 263, would go into effect immediately and would say that no political party can have “independent” as its name. The bill would let the ballot-qualified Independent Party choose a new name. The bill would also provide that independent candidates, who are now on the ballot as “Nonaffiliated” would in the future be on the ballot as “Nonaffiliated/Independent.” The bill says that letting any party call itself the Independent Party is confusing.
HB 2432 says that party labels must be printed on the ballot without being abbreviated. In 2010, the Oregon Secretary of State permitted some counties to show only party abbreviations on the ballot. Virtually every voter knows what “Dem” and “Rep” means, but the abbreviations for minor parties are much less understood. For example, the Green Party was abbreviated “PGP” (which is an acronym for “Pacific Green Party”).
HB 2421 would require qualified minor parties to forward a list of voters who participate in their nomination process. Most ballot-qualified minor parties in Oregon nominate by convention, but the Independent Party nominated with a mail-ballot, paid for by the party itself.
An Oregon bill that only affects the major parties is HB 2492, which eliminates party officer elections from the primary ballot, and says parties should choose their officials any way they wish, but at their own expense.
This is typical “mumbo jumbo” by major party legislators. They feel the threat of the Oregon Independent Party and they’re trying to kill it now while they have a chance.
If this bill passes into law, I hope the party will choose the name of “Independence Party” and will go to Court – if necessary – saying that it is a legitimate name – recognized by elections officials and used in other states elections. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that an “Independent” can be a member of the “Independence Party” and that the “Independence Party” can be made up of “Independents.” Don’t let them defeat you “Oregon Independent Party.” You’ve a right to call your selves what you want to call your party.
I.P. as in DOI — 4 July 1776 ???
Here I am in Texas thinking we’ve cornered the market on jackass state legislators and then I read this about Oregon and the blatant attack on the Indepedent Party.
HB2492 would eliminate party officer elections from the primary ballot, and require parties to choose their officials any way they wish, but at their own expense? How will they survive without the welfare check?
In about half the states, there are no publicly-funded elections to help choose party officers.
Montana is one of those state where committee men and women are nominated in the primary. Even though the law says you can’t run for two offices the state allows the exception for people running for committee persons. It’s all about power at the local level. Republicans will not have a caucus for the nomination of president in 2012 because people were simply getting on local committees and interfering with the power structure of the Republican party.
#2 Isn’t Independence Day on March 2nd?
# 5 At least some States have some brains about the party hack gangs.
Snail mail ballots in ALL States for public offices and even clubby party hack folks ???
Oregon – THE State that first had Democracy voter petitions for state const. amdts and laws, etc.
Oregon – survives with ALL paper mail ballots. — some work for the postal snail near/on election days.