OPINION
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
A5
All of Oregon’s elections should be ‘free and equal’
OTHER
VIEWS
Mike Eng
O
regon’s Consti-
tution (Article 2,
Section 1) states
that, “All elections shall
be free and equal.” How-
ever, this is far from the
case, as elections are cur-
rently conducted in Ore-
gon. Statewide, nearly
40% of registered vot-
ers in Oregon — approxi-
mately 1 million nonaffi l-
iated voters — are barred
from voting in primary
elections. This, despite the
fact that nonaffi liated vot-
ers help pay for conduct-
ing these publicly funded
elections through their
taxes.
Even though Oregon
has a reputation for mak-
ing it easier for voter par-
ticipation by pioneering
secure and simplifi ed vote-
by-mail elections admin-
istered through our county
clerks, prepaid postage
on ballots, and automatic
registration through our
Motor Voter Act, Ore-
gon has stubbornly con-
tinued to suppress some
voters’ “free and equal”
participation. Oregon’s
“closed” primary system
only allows voters who
are registered as either a
Republican or a Democrat,
to cast a ballot in primary
elections.
No eligible voter in
Oregon should be forced
to join one of the two
major political parties
in order to exercise their
right to vote.
Oregon’s “closed” pri-
mary system is the result
of the duopoly maintained
by the Republican and
Democratic parties, which
together control Oregon
politics. If we, as a state,
truly value voter access
and participation, we
shouldn’t leave it to the
leadership of the Repub-
lican and Democratic par-
ties, whose interests are,
by defi nition, partisan and
narrow to open up Ore-
gon’s taxpayer-funded pri-
mary races.
“I don’t care who does
the electing, as long as I
get to do the nominating,”
famously declared William
“Boss” Tweed, who long
controlled the Democratic
Party machine in New
York City in the 19th cen-
tury. Sadly, this quote still
applies to how Oregon’s
primary system is run.
This is why a non-
partisan group of Ore-
gonians from across the
state have come together
to champion a Ballot Ini-
tiative Petition to give all
voters the opportunity to
determine who makes it
through primaries to the
general election.
Oregon Open Prima-
ries, an all-volunteer non-
profi t, is currently col-
lecting signatures for a
ballot initiative that would
amend Oregon’s Constitu-
tion to clarify that when it
says “all elections shall be
free and equal,” it means
that “the state shall only
select candidates for the
general election by con-
ducting an open pri-
mary election in which
all qualifi ed candidates
and electors may partic-
ipate regardless of polit-
ical party affi liation or
nonaffi liation.”
Currently, only voters
registered as Republicans
or Democrats can vote in
publicly funded prima-
ries for the state’s most
important offi ces, such as
for governor, as well as
for House and Senate rep-
resentatives to the U.S.
Congress, state legislators
and other statewide execu-
tive offi ces, such as secre-
tary of state, attorney gen-
eral, treasurer and labor
commissioner.
And yet, major polit-
ical parties represent
an increasingly smaller
share of voters in Oregon.
Statewide, the percent-
age of nonaffi liated vot-
ers has surged by 40% in
the past fi ve years. Non-
affi liated voters now out-
number voters registered
as Republicans, and are
expected to soon over-
take the number of voters
registered as Democrats.
Astoundingly, in 18 of
Oregon’s 36 counties —
that’s half the state’s coun-
ties, including large and
small, red and blue, East
side and West side — non-
affi liated voters outnum-
ber both Republicans and
Democrats.
In Wallowa County,
according to the latest
numbers available from
the Secretary of State’s
Offi ce, Republicans com-
Don’t just babble political rhetoric — think fi rst
OTHER
VIEWS
Connie Dunham
W
e are heading
into an election
year, and I have
already seen letters appear-
ing in the paper. In 2020,
there were lots of sharp
words written, often con-
taining information that
wasn’t true to fact, result-
ing in anger from those of
the opposite party. What
has happened to our pub-
lic discourse? Why do we
throw insults and slan-
der back and forth? Worse,
why do we spout stories
as truth, when we have no
clear idea that they are fact?
Why have we lost the abil-
ity to have a civil debate or
present a solution to issues
instead of just badgering the
competition?
I believe (my opinion!)
that part of it is repeatedly
hearing the same rhetoric
on social media, and think-
ing that it’s smart to repeat
it. That includes Facebook,
newspapers, TV commen-
tators or any others out
there. That material should
either be spoken of as fact
or opinion. A news chan-
nel should focus on fact.
Talk shows should be taken
with a grain of salt and the
material investigated before
we repeat anything as fact.
Unfortunately, some of the
fact checkers online are not
very reliable, either. It takes
a discerning eye to unravel
the truth, which leads me to
the second reason.
People have lost the abil-
ity to debate or discuss
with logic. I wonder how
long it’s been since either
was taught in our public
schools. If you can’t think
logically, you can’t pres-
ent a case that will con-
vince someone to think your
way. Debate teams should
be required in high school,
and logic should be taught
before teens have hormones
disrupt their brainwaves.
Children should not be fed
propaganda, but should be
taught to think and examine
facts, coming to their own
conclusions.
If your real goal is to
gather more proponents
for your particular issue, I
would suggest a few things.
Foremost is to pres-
ent true facts. If you don’t
know if something is a fact,
then lay it aside. It takes a
lot of investigative work
to research an issue and
really know it. Some issues
are very complicated and
won’t be solved as easily
as we may think. We must
be educated on the issues
that appear on a ballot! Fill-
ing in a dot on your bal-
lot should be based on your
educated decision, not sim-
ply the party who it is affi li-
ated with.
Second, present solutions
to what you perceive is a
wrong policy or direction,
instead of running down
another point of view.
Third, agree with issues
that seem to be working,
even though those issues
may belong to another per-
son or party. Why not? Is
not the goal to better our
America?
Fourth, speak softly and
respectfully. Your objective
should not be to anger the
other person or put them on
the defensive, for then you
have defeated your purpose
of convincing them you’re
right.
And last, be ready to
rebuke those on your own
side who insist on foment-
ing more distrust, anger and
hate by salacious remarks.
Our Founding Fathers
found ways to come
together, even though there
were many heated debates,
and came up with a docu-
ment that has never been
equaled, the very document
that lets us have these con-
versations almost 250 years
later. I’m pretty sure they
had a good foundation in
logic.
Please think before you
put something to pen and
paper, and remember that
a spoken word cannot be
taken back into your mouth.
Keep it closed if you’re not
sure it’s an accurate and
polite response!
———
Connie Dunham ranches
north of Enterprise with her
husband. She has lived in
Wallowa County since 1974.
prise approximately 47%
of total registered vot-
ers; Democrats are 20%;
and nonaffi liated voters
are 27%. This means that
approximately 1,600 vot-
ers in Wallowa County
have no voice and are
barred from voting in Ore-
gon’s primary elections
that determine which can-
didates will be listed on
fi nal ballots.
Although the state
Republican and Demo-
cratic parties blame each
other for the hyperparti-
sanship and polarization
that currently character-
izes Oregon politics, both
parties have long resisted
a surefi re solution to eas-
ing this divisiveness —
allow nonaffi liated voters
to participate in prima-
ries that determine vot-
ers’ choices in the general
election. Then, candidates
would need to listen and
respond to the concerns
of a much broader group
of voters, instead of just
to the most partisan and
often most extreme mem-
bers of their base, who
generally tend to be the
voters in party primaries.
Open primaries would
encourage more candi-
dates to campaign as true
problem-solvers working
for the best interests of all
Oregonians.
Supporters of the “Free
and Equal” Initiative Peti-
tion (Initiative Petition
39) are currently gath-
ering signatures to qual-
ify for including the con-
stitutional amendment on
the November 2022 ballot,
so that voters can decide
whether the basic right of
voting should extend to
all voters, regardless of
their party affi liation or
nonaffi liation.
To learn more about
the “Free and Equal” Ini-
tiative Petition, see www.
oregonopenprimaries.org.
You can also print out
an “Electronic Signature
Sheet” from the website
for you to sign and return
by mail to Oregon Open
Primaries.
Oregon Open Primaries
is also actively recruiting
volunteers to help gather
signatures.
———
Mike Eng lives in rural
Lostine. He’s a retired pub-
lic policy mediator and
a volunteer for Oregon
Open Primaries. He can be
reached at 541-569-2124.
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