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44
Volume XLIV
‘City «9/Roses’
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Number 43
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www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • October 29. 2014
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O livia O livia /T he P ortland O bserver
Ballots already received in the approaching Nov. 4 General Election are sorted by Tim Scott, Multnomah County director of elections. Scott predicts that about 70
percent of registered voters will participate in the election which is dominated by several important and controversial issues.
From marijuana
to parks, ballot
issues dominate
O livia O livia
T he P ortland O bserver
by
Voters are about to have their say in an election featuring
Oregon candidates for Governor and U. S. Senator and domi
nated by some important and controversial issues, ranging
from supporting parks and schools to the proposed legaliza
tion of marijuana and allowing driving privileges based on
the ability to drive safely and not on immigration status.
To get your vote counted in the state’s vote-by-mail
election, the ballot must be received at an official county
elections box or county elections office by 8 p.m. on Tues
day, Nov. 8.
As of Tuesday, about 22 percent of registered voters in
Multnomah County had already turned in their ballots,
according to Tim Scott, the county’s director of elections.
Scott is predicting a total turnout of about 70 percent to
Power
of the
Vote
roughly match the turnout of registered voters in 2010, the
last November General Election occurring in a mid-term cycle
between presidential elections.
There are eight 24-hour ballot drop-boxes available in the
Portland area, including a new one placed in the parking lot
of Regal Cinemas at the intersection of Southeast 165th
Avenue and Division Street.
“About 44,000 people will have a closer ballot box than
they did before,” said Scott, on the new drop box location.
“We try to look at underserved areas and offer them more
options.”
Multnomah County libraries will also collect ballots, but
only during normal library operating hours.
For those who haven ’ t decided how they will vote in every
race, the approaching deadline gives a bit more time to learn
about the candidates and issues, many of which could use
clarification or further explanation.
Measure 86 seeks to change the Oregon Constitution to
allow for the establishment of higher education bonds for
Oregon college students and students in other career train
ing programs. The measure would authorize the state to
finance student funding and allow the state to incur debt if
need be to help those students attend school. Proponents
say that a ‘yes’ vote would provide more support for stu
dents pursuing higher education, but detractors are con
cerned about the financial risk involved.
Measure 88 would affect immigrant groups in the state. If
passed, the measure would allow residents to get drivers
licenses without the state requiring proof of the right to stay in
the country. At the moment, many undocumented Oregon
drivers find themselves trying to get licenses from Washing-
continued
on page 4