"Joel is using his campaign to try and raise awareness about the fact that there are many politicos in the major parties who have lost sight of the national interest in the fog of partisanship," said party secretary, Sal Peralta. "We support his efforts to try and bring the conversation back to the reasonable middle and encourage all people of goodwill to support his candidacy."

Haugen, who served in the United States Army in Vietnam, is a small business owner who has worked for the Port of Portland and as a public school teacher.

BACKGROUNDER ON IPO NOMINATIONS

There has been some question as to how candidates who are cross-nominated by the Independent Party will appear on the ballot.

Candidates for partisan offices may receive and accept multiple nominations, but their names appear only once on the Oregon general election ballot (single ballot line).

In reviewing the statute on ballot design, ORS 254.135, the Independent Party has taken the position that, although a candidate's name may only appear on a single ballot line, his or her name may be followed by both the name of the party of which he is a registered member and the name of a party of which he is not a member. This was the practice in Oregon prior to 1958.

It is the position of the party that modifications made to the statute in 1995 had the effect of permitting the name of multiple nominating parties to appear next to the candidate's name.

"We remain optimistic that the Oregon Secretary of State will recognize that the current practice is inconsistent with the statutory requirement," said Linda Williams, herself an attorney.

(Attached, please find copies ballots from 1944 and 1946 that show multiple cross-nominations between parties printed on the same ballot line. Further examples may be obtained from the state archive, or from most county historical societies.)