The Oregonian
January 23, 2006

No party? Good luck getting on the ballot
Oregon elections - A new law makes it much more difficult for independent candidates to seek office
Monday, January 23, 2006
HARRY ESTEVE
The Oregonian

Independent candidates, already a rare breed in Oregon, could be headed for extinction under a new, barely noticed law that took effect this month.

Legislative leaders and other state lawmakers who supported the change say they were trying to keep Oregon elections fair and "honorable" when they tightened restrictions on who can sign a nominating petition.

But critics say the new language makes it far more difficult for unaffiliated candidates to get on the ballot. They call it a thinly veiled power grab by Republican and Democratic party leaders to keep competition at bay and reduce the risk of "spoiler" candidates affecting close races.

"The goal is to keep independents off the ballot," says Dan Meek, a Portland lawyer and activist who argued against the law when it was before the 2005 Legislature. Democratic and Republican party leaders "don't want anyone siphoning off votes they think they own."

Meek and other critics say Oregon is one of a handful of states making it harder for independents to run for office. The law change comes against a backdrop of a growing number of voters declining to affiliate with any political party. Of the state's approximately 2 million registered voters, about 22 percent don't belong to a political party.

The change may have affected the upcoming election: Former Gov. John Kitzhaber said he considered running for his old job as an independent this year but was dissuaded in part because of the new rules.

State Sen. Ben Westlund, R-Bend, also is thinking about dropping his party label and running for governor as an independent. He says he thinks he can overcome the "high hurdle" the new rules put up. He voted against the change, saying it "discriminates against independent candidates."

Before the new law, any registered voter could sign a nominating petition for an independent candidate, or attend a nominating convention. Now, anyone who votes in a primary election cannot also help nominate an independent candidate -- regardless of whether the voter signs a petition before or after the primary. And a voter may not sign a petition for more than one candidate.

"This is about preserving one voter, one vote in the nominating process," says Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown, D-Portland, who shepherded the bill through the Senate Rules Committee. "I don't think it's fair for people to vote twice to nominate someone for a position."

Concerns about Oregon's nominating process surfaced in 2004, when consumer activist Ralph Nader tried to get on the state ballot as an independent candidate for president. At the time, Republican and conservative groups were all for a Nader candidacy, under the theory that he would draw votes away from Democrat John Kerry. They encouraged their members to pack the Nader nominating convention, and later, to sign nominating petitions.

Eventually, a challenge to Nader's nominating petitions kept him off Oregon's ballot. But lawmakers saw an opening to ratchet down what they saw as a free-for-all nominating procedure.

"My intention was -- and the effect is -- to put everyone on an even footing," says state Rep. Mary Nolan, D-Portland, one of two co-sponsors of the original legislation, House Bill 2614.

"If I vote in my own party's primary, I don't get to also attend a Libertarian Party convention," Nolan says. "I don't get to sign a petition for an independent."

The person potentially most affected by the new law is Westlund. To get on the ballot as an independent, he must gather signatures from at least 18,368 voters -- a relatively easy task under the old rules. Because those signatures must come from voters who don't cast a primary ballot, the field of potential signers is narrowed significantly, vastly increasing the time and cost of getting the necessary number.

If the voter signs a nominating petition and then votes in the primary, the nominating signature would be ruled invalid. Westlund says the state is sending a bad message about political participation.

If a Republican, for example, wants to nominate him to run for governor but also wants to vote in a contested primary in his Senate district, he can't do both. If he does, the signature for Westlund would be disqualified. "I don't think that's right, " Westlund says, "and I don't think that's fair."

Harry Esteve: 503-221-8226; harryesteve@news.oregonian.com

(c) 2006 The Oregonian.