Abbreviating political parties' names would confuse voters, harm alternative parties
Dan Meek
Hillsboro Argus Op-Ed
February 29, 2012
The Oregon Legislature told voters it needed to have even-year sessions in order to deal with pressing budget matters. So why did the House Rules Committee on February 21 suddenly consider a bill and amendment to remove from ballots the names of political parties adjacent to the names of their candidates and replace them with 3-letter abbreviations?
Under current law, a candidate nominated by the Libertarian Party, for example, is identified on the ballot with the word "Libertarian" adjacent to the name of the candidate. Under the new bill, the candidate would be identified as only "LBT," which sounds more like a sandwich than a party.
Using 3-letter abbreviations would not harm the Democrats or Republicans, because nearly all voters will know what DEM and REP mean. The new bill with its amendment is aimed at destroying the opportunity for alternative parties to win votes -- by confusing voters at the crucial time when they are marking their ballots. Read more ...
