74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .
 
LC 1803
 
                         House Bill 3040
 
Sponsored by Representative BARKER; Representatives BOQUIST,
  BUCKLEY, GIROD, KRIEGER, NELSON, RILEY, ROBLAN, SHIELDS, WITT,
  Senators AVAKIAN, BURDICK, G GEORGE, L GEORGE, WESTLUND
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
 
  Directs general or special election ballots to list name of
candidate for partisan office for each nomination candidate
receives, with name of each political party that nominated
candidate printed opposite one of listings of candidate's name.
Allows candidate to decline to be listed as nominee of political
party.
  Specifies that votes cast for candidate of affiliation of
electors or minor political party on ballot line marked for that
affiliation or party count towards vote requirement for minor
political party formation.
  Specifies that multiple votes for candidate on same ballot for
same office count as vote for candidate without party
designation.
 
                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to elections; amending ORS 248.008, 254.135 and 254.505.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1. ORS 254.135 is amended to read:
  254.135. (1) The official general or special election ballot or
ballot label shall be styled 'Official Ballot' and shall state:
  (a) The name of the county for which it is intended.
  (b) The date of the election.
  (c) The names of all candidates for offices to be filled at the
election whose nominations have been made and accepted and who
have not died, withdrawn or become disqualified. The ballot or
ballot label may not contain the name of any other person.
  (d) The number, ballot title and financial estimates under ORS
250.125 of any measure to be voted on at the election.
  (2) If the election is conducted at polling places as provided
in this chapter, any ballot to be issued at a polling place shall
also state the number or name of the precinct for which it is
intended.
  (3) The names of candidates for President and Vice President of
the United States shall be printed in groups together, under
their political party designations. The names of the electors may
not be printed on the general election ballot. A vote for the
candidates for President and Vice President shall be a vote for
the group of presidential electors supporting those candidates
and selected as provided by law. The general election ballot
shall state that electors of President and Vice President are
being elected and that a vote for the candidates for President
and Vice President shall be a vote for the electors supporting
those candidates.
    { - (4)(a) The name of each candidate nominated shall be
printed upon the ballot or ballot label in but one place, without
regard to how many times the candidate may have been nominated.
The name of a political party shall be added opposite the name of
a candidate for other than nonpartisan office according to the
following rules: - }
    { - (A) For a candidate not affiliated with a political party
who is nominated by a minor political party, the name of the
minor political party shall be added opposite the name of the
candidate; - }
    { - (B) For a candidate not affiliated with a political party
who is nominated by more than one minor political party, the name
of the minor political party selected by the candidate shall be
added opposite the name of the candidate; - }
    { - (C) For a candidate who is a member of a political party
who is nominated by a political party of which the candidate is
not a member, the name of the political party that nominated the
candidate shall be added opposite the name of the candidate; - }
    { - (D) For a candidate who is a member of a political party
who is nominated by more than one political party of which the
candidate is not a member, the name of the political party
selected by the candidate shall be added opposite the name of the
candidate; and - }
    { - (E) For a candidate who is nominated by a political party
of which the candidate is a member, the name of the political
party of which the candidate is a member shall be added opposite
the name of the candidate. - }
    { - (b) If a candidate is required to select the name of a
political party to be added on the ballot under paragraph (a) of
this subsection, the candidate shall notify the filing officer of
the selection not later than the 61st day before the day of the
election. - }
   { +  (4)(a) The name of each candidate nominated for other
than nonpartisan office shall be printed upon the ballot or
ballot label in one place for each nomination the candidate has
received.  The name of each political party that nominated the
candidate shall be added opposite one of the printings of the
name of the candidate.
  (b) The name of each candidate for nonpartisan office shall be
printed upon the ballot or ballot label in but one place.
  (c) If a candidate for other than nonpartisan office does not
wish to be identified on the ballot or ballot label as the
nominee of a specific political party, the candidate must notify
the filing officer of this decision not later than the 61st day
before the day of the election. If the candidate notifies the
filing officer under this paragraph, the filing officer may not
add the name of that political party opposite the name of the
candidate on the ballot or ballot label. + }
    { - (c) - }   { + (5) + } The word 'incumbent' shall follow
the name of each candidate for the Supreme Court, Court of
Appeals, Oregon Tax Court or circuit court who is designated the
incumbent by the Secretary of State under ORS 254.085.
    { - (d) - }   { + (6) + } The word 'nonaffiliated' shall
follow the name of each candidate who is not affiliated with a
political party and who is nominated by an assembly of electors
or individual electors.
    { - (e) - }   { + (7) + } If two or more candidates for the
same office have the same or similar surnames, the location of
their places of residence shall be printed opposite their names
to distinguish one from another.
  SECTION 2. ORS 248.008 is amended to read:
 
  248.008. (1) An affiliation of electors becomes a minor
political party in the state, a county or other electoral
district, qualified to make nominations for public office in that
electoral district and in any other electoral district wholly
contained within the electoral district, when either of the
following events occurs:
  (a) When the affiliation of electors has filed with the
Secretary of State a petition with the signatures of at least a
number of electors equal to one and one-half percent of the total
votes cast in the electoral district for all candidates for
Governor at the most recent election at which a candidate for
Governor was elected to a full term. The petition also shall
state the intention to form a new political party and give the
designation of it. The filed petition shall contain only original
signatures. The petition shall be filed not later than two years
following the date the prospective petition is filed. The
circulator shall certify on each signature sheet that the
individuals signed the sheet in the presence of the circulator
and that the circulator believes each individual is an elector
registered in the electoral district. The Secretary of State
shall verify whether the petition contains the required number of
signatures of electors. The petition shall not be accepted for
filing if it contains less than 100 percent of the required
number of signatures. The Secretary of State by rule shall
designate a statistical sampling technique to verify whether a
petition contains the required number of signatures of electors.
A petition shall not be rejected for the reason that it contains
less than the required number of signatures unless two separate
sampling processes both establish that the petition lacks the
required number of signatures. The second sampling must contain a
larger number of signatures than the first sampling. The
Secretary of State may employ professional assistance to
determine the sampling technique. The statistical sampling
technique may be the same as that adopted under ORS 250.105.
Before circulating the petition, the chief sponsor of the
petition shall file with the Secretary of State a signed copy of
the prospective petition. The chief sponsor shall include with
the prospective petition a statement declaring whether one or
more persons will be paid money or other valuable consideration
for obtaining signatures of electors on the petition. After the
prospective petition is filed, the chief sponsor shall notify the
filing officer not later than the 10th day after the chief
sponsor first has knowledge or should have had knowledge that:
  (A) Any person is being paid for obtaining signatures, when the
statement included with the prospective petition declared that no
such person would be paid.
  (B) No person is being paid for obtaining signatures, when the
statement included with the prospective petition declared that
one or more such persons would be paid.
  (b) When the affiliation of electors has polled for any one of
its candidates for any public office in the electoral district at
least one percent of the total votes cast in the electoral
district for all candidates for:
  (A) Presidential elector at the last general election at which
candidates for President and Vice President of the United States
were listed on the ballot; or
  (B) Any single state office to be voted upon in the state at
large for which nominations by political parties are permitted by
law at the most recent election at which a candidate for the
office was elected to a full term.
  (2) After satisfying either requirement of subsection (1) of
this section, the minor political party may nominate candidates
at the next general election if at any time during the period
beginning on the date of the next primary election and ending on
the 90th day before the next general election, a number of
electors equal to at least one-tenth of one percent of the total
votes cast in the state or electoral district for all candidates
for Governor at the most recent election at which a candidate for
Governor was elected to a full term are registered as members of
the party.
  (3) A filing officer shall not accept a certificate of
nomination of a candidate nominated by a minor political party
unless the minor political party has satisfied the registration
requirement of subsection (2) of this section.
  (4) After a minor political party qualifies to nominate
candidates, in order to maintain status as a minor political
party:
  (a) A candidate or candidates of the party must poll a number
of votes described in subsection (1)(b) of this section at each
subsequent general election and following each general election,
the registration requirement of subsection (2) of this section
must be satisfied; or
  (b) Following each general election, at any time during the
period beginning on the date of the next primary election and
ending on the 90th day before the next general election, a number
of electors equal to at least one-half of one percent of the
total number of registered electors in this state must be
registered as members of the party.
  (5) An affiliation of electors ceases to be a minor political
party in the state or electoral district if:
  (a) The registration requirement of subsection (2) or (4)(b) of
this section is not satisfied. The affiliation of electors ceases
to be a minor political party on the date of the deadline for
satisfying the registration requirement; or
  (b) Except as provided in subsection (4)(b) of this section, in
the case of a minor political party qualified to nominate
candidates, a candidate or candidates of the minor political
party do not satisfy the one percent requirement specified in
subsection (1)(b) of this section at the next general election.
The affiliation of electors ceases to be a minor political party
on the date of the election.
  (6) During the period beginning on the date of the primary
election and ending on the 90th day before the date of the
general election, the Secretary of State shall determine not less
than once each month whether the registration requirement of
subsection (2) or (4)(b) of this section has been satisfied. If
the party changes its name, only those electors who register on
or after the effective date of the name change as members of the
party under the new party name shall be counted as members of the
party under this subsection.
  (7)   { - An affiliation of electors or a minor political party
may not satisfy the one percent requirement referred to in
subsection (1)(b) of this section by nominating a candidate who
is the nominee of another political party at the same
election - }  { +  For purposes of satisfying the one percent
requirement referred to in subsection (1)(b) of this section,
only votes cast for a candidate of an affiliation of electors or
a minor political party on the ballot line marked under ORS
254.135 for that affiliation or political party name shall be
counted + }.
  SECTION 3. ORS 254.505 is amended to read:
  254.505. (1) Only official ballots   { - shall - }
 { + may + } be counted.  Any vote from which it is impossible to
determine the elector's choice for the office or measure
 { - shall - }   { + may + } not be counted. Any ballot that has
a sticker or other device in violation of ORS 254.405 (2)
 { - shall be void and shall - }   { + is void and may + } not be
counted. Counting board clerks shall disregard misspelling or
abbreviations of the names of candidates if it can be ascertained
from the ballot for whom the vote was intended.
   { +  (2) If an elector votes for a candidate more than once on
the same ballot for the same office by voting for the candidate
opposite multiple, different political party affiliations, the
ballot shall be counted as if the elector voted for the candidate
only once on a ballot line without any party designation. + }
    { - (2) - }   { + (3) + } When ballots are counted by
counting boards, the board chairperson, using ink, immediately
shall initial the back of the wholly or partially void ballot and
write on it 'Not counted for ____ ' (stating the office or
measure). The election board shall seal the wholly void ballots
in an envelope.
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