Thanks to a law passed by the Oregon legislature in 2005, voters must choose whether they want to (1) cast a ballot in a party’s Primary election or (2) sign the nominating petition of any independent candidate seeking to place his or her name on the November ballot. They can no longer do both.
For example, if Jane casts a partisan ballot in the Primary election, even if she chooses not to vote in certain races, her signature will not be counted on the nominating petitions of any independent candidates. If Jane chooses not to return her partisan ballot, and thus does not vote at all in the Primary election, her signature on the independent candidate’s nominating petition will be counted. She will, however, have lost the opportunity to vote on nonpartisan races and ballot measures.
The best solution for Jane, who wants to sign an independent candidate’s petition and vote in the nonpartisan races, is to re-register as “Not a Member of a Party” by April 29, 2008. At election time, she will receive a nonpartisan ballot that includes nonpartisan races, such as those for Portland City Council, but no partisan races, such as those for state legislators. After the Primary, she can then re-register with her party of choice.
The LWVOR supported this legislation. Signing a petition to put a candidate on the ballot is equivalent to voting for that candidate in a Primary election. If someone was allowed to vote for a party candidate in the Primary and sign a petition for an independent, they would, in essence, be voting twice. The new law removes this possibility.