voter reg.JPG
Gov. Kate Brown smiles after signing an automatic voter-registration bill in March.
(AP Photo/Don Ryan)
Oregon's Democratic and Republican parties got a jump on Independence Day festivities last week by firing a bottle rocket at the Independent Party, which this year qualified for major party status. Brandishing the results of a poll conducted months earlier, leaders of the state's two dominant parties suggested that their upstart competitor has succeeded in large part because of trickery. Such is the power of fear that it can unite groups whose members have been kicking each others' shins in Salem for the past several months.
There is some merit to the odd couple's kvetching. Given the election-related tinkering Democratic legislators have done this session, however, the complaints of the state's dominant party are particularly tough to take seriously. In any case, a remedy for any aggrieved Independent Party member is only a few mouse-clicks away.
Citing a late-March survey of 400 Independent Party members, a joint press release by the Democratic and Republican Parties proclaims that "nearly half of all IPO members do not realize they are actually members of a party." This actually misstates what the survey found, which is that nearly half of IPO members did not realize they were members of the Independent Party. Eleven percent thought they were Democrats, and 8 percent thought they were Republicans. Twenty four percent - only a quarter - thought they were unaffiliated with any party. One wonders what a similar poll of Democrats and Republicans would reveal. How many would think they're Independents?
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The hefty percentage of Independents who thought they were nonaffiliated does suggest that less-savvy voters who'd prefer to be nonaffiliated can be misled by the party's name. Whether this is a matter of trickery, strategy or coincidence, there is a very simple remedy: Voters can update their registration on the Secretary of State's web site. A drop-down menu contains a number of potential affiliations, including "Independent Party" and "not a member of a party." Those two choices are clearly distinct.
The press release goes on to quote state Democratic Party Chair Frank Dixon, who opines, "If we're going to have major parties, we need to make sure their members actually intended to join, and that they are engaged and involved in democratic processes." Actually intended ... engaged and involved in democratic processes ... that reminds us of something. What could it be?
That's it! Gov. Kate Brown's "motor voter" law, which the Legislature approved this year on the strength of Democratic votes alone. The law, the first of its kind in the nation, automatically registers people to vote using driver's license data, then sends newly registered people a notification explaining how to opt out or change their default status (nonaffiliated). It's fascinating how quickly after harvesting the (perhaps intentionally) unengaged and uninvolved the party's leaders discovered the value of intention, involvement and engagement.
The partisan "motor voter" law and last week's bipartisan cherry bomb do have one thing in common: Both are inconvenient for the Independent Party. The press release implies that the party lacks credibility. The "motor voter" law could threaten the IPO's status as a major party and, therefore, the ability to attract top candidates and access to state-funded primary elections.
Major-party status requires registered membership equivalent to 5 percent of the total number of registered voters during the most recent general election. The Independent Party is now only 70 or 80 members to the good, says party Secretary Sal Peralta, and the "motor voter" law could flood the rolls with roughly 300,000 new voters. Even as the Democratic Party's chair accuses the Independent Party of taking advantage of the unengaged and uninvolved, the Democratic Party's passive army of the unengaged and uninvolved threatens to swamp the Independent Party's tiny registration margin. If you want to kill opposition in the cradle, it pays to control both houses of the Legislature and the governor's office.
What's good for the state's two biggest parties isn't necessarily good for Oregonians, whose registration pattern suggests dissatisfaction with both. As of May, about 33 percent of the state's registered voters were neither Democrats nor Republicans. The next largest party by far, representing exactly 5 percent of voters, is the Independent Party whose candidates may appeal to the state's roughly 531,000 nonaffiliated voters, who account for about 25 percent of the state's total.
Whether or not you agree with the Independent Party's values - we take no position here - there's something to be said for increasing choice on the ballot, particularly if that expansion provides centrist candidates. There's also something to be said for supporting choice in the face of partisan rule-changes like the "motor voter" bill that threaten to limit it. To this end, there is something voters - hello, nonaffiliated voters - can do. If only for the purpose of preserving choice, register as an Independent Party member. As each primary approaches, simply change your registration online in order to receive the ballot of your choice. After casting your ballot, switch back. Until Oregon creates open primaries, it's the best voters can do.