NO ON MEASURE 65
The Top 2 Primary Will Shut Out Third Parties and Lessen Choices in November
by Bob Goldberg

Measure 65 would set up a "top two" primary system, similar to that used in Washington and Louisiana. In this system, in the state-wide primary in May, voters would be able to choose from the total slate of candidates, regardless of their party affiliation, and the top two vote-getters would advance to the general election in November.

Many voters in the May primary this year changed their registration in order to vote for Democrats in the presidential and statewide races, since there were several close two-person races in this party. That is the traditional way to get around the closed primary in Oregon, and is legal here. Measure 65, or the top two primary system, would make this unnecessary, but would also make it extremely unlikely that third-party candidates would make it to the ballot in November. Under the current rules, each party receiving more than 1% of the previous major election’s votes gets to list one candidate on the general election ballot.

All the major political parties in Oregon (Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Libertarians, and Independents) oppose Measure 65. This is because the top two system proposed would essentially strip the parties of their traditional role of nominating their candidates in primaries, conventions, or caususes. Political parties could endorse a candidate on the primary ballot under Measure 65, but candidates could also run under a particular party without their endorsement.

Voter rights organizations also oppose Measure 65. They claim that the top two primary would restrict ballot access to minor parties, and limit voter choice in the general election. The former claim has been born out in Washington and Louisiana, as there have been very few (6 in over 4000 races) minor party candidates on the general election ballot in either state since adopting the top two (or "jungle", or Louisiana) primary. The latter claim of limiting voter choice is complicated, since the spoiler role of third parties has tended to scare voters away from voting their conscience.

Blair Bobier, a Pacific Green Party co-founder and activist, says that even if Measure 65 passes, "it will be challenged in court, or provoke a rebellion. It will not stand."

For a detailed explanation of the reasons to vote no on Measure 65, see the Oregonians Against Unfair Elections web site at http://www.voteno65.org/ or the Save Oregon’s Democracy web site at http://saveoregonsdemocracy. org/. The Vote Yes 65 web site is at http://www.oneballot.com/. For more information about voting systems in general, see the Center for Voting and Democracy web site at http://www.fairvote.org/. If you’re interested in ballot access for minor parties and independents, see the Ballot Access News web site at http://www.ballot-access.org/.