An attack from nowhere

by Editorial Board
The Register-Guard
April 19, 2011

The second outrage, however, lives on, and one day could prove serious. No legislator’s name was attached to the bill. House Bill 2442 was filed before the session by the House Interim Committee on Rules with no listed sponsor, and the hearing occurred at the request of no identified committee member. It was presented to Oregonians as a product of immaculate political conception.

EDITORIAL: An experimental primary
State’s Independent Party conducts an online election

For Independents with Internet access, the process will be free, convenient and information-rich. Provided the process is secure and can avoid technical troubles, it could prove popular — not only among Independents, but among others who may begin to demand that their own parties, major and minor, conduct their primaries in a similar way. If the process being pioneered by the Independent Party spreads, elections and politics in Oregon may never be the same.    Read more ...

GUEST VIEWPOINT: Independent Party wants to fight big-money special interests

Here’s our next reform: The Independent Party will conduct a membership-wide secure Internet primary election (e-vote) of its 55,000 members in July to choose its nominees (and cross-nominees) for November.     Read more ...

Bill restores voters’ rights; And it grants minor parties new visibility

The tyranny of the majority is so fearsome a force that it’s reassuring to see a dominant political party refusing to exercise its power over potential rivals. An example of such restraint came on the final day of Oregon’s legislative session, when lawmakers passed a bill repealing a 2005 law that limits the rights of many voters to become involved in independent candidates’ campaigns. The Democratic-­controlled Legislature also gave minor political parties a new path to prominence by approving a form of what’s called “fusion voting.” Gov. Ted Kulongoski should sign the bill.     Read more ...