2019 Campaigns
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At the Annual conference of UU Oregon Voices for Justice, we affirmed the continuation of our four campaigns from the prior year.
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Our Four Campaigns:
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Deepening Democracy
The 2019 legislative session referred a ballot measure to the 2020 November ballot - to amend the state constitution to allow limits on campaign contributions - a first step to getting big special interest money out of our state's elections.
Ballot Referral
Oregon is only one of 4 states with no limits on money in politics. Well, we actually do have limits; they just are not enforced due to various OR Supreme Court decisions declaring that, because of our "strong" free speech protection in the OR Constitution, they cannot be enforced. Oregon citizen advocates were able to pressure OR legislators to refer to voters a ballot measure (SJR18) to amend the OR constitution to allow limits on campaign contribution. This will be on the ballot in Nov 2020. Watch for news of the campaign to support and get this enacted.
Click here to see the history of votes on this legislation.
Enacted
National Popular Vote. National Popular Vote is a change in how US Electoral College votes are cast so that the US Presidential candidate receiving the most national popular votes from the states and District of Columbia will receive the Electoral College votes of those states which adopt the program. This legislation (SB870) had been introduced several times in the past, only to get stuck in the OR Senate, even though it had been approved in the House each session. This year it was approved in both the House and Senate, and the Governor has signed it.
Click here to see the history of votes on this legislation.
Postage paid envelops Starting in 2020, all mail-in ballots in Oregon will be free to return through the mailbox. No stamps are necessary! Legislation is in SB861 See the history of votes on this legislation here.
But something important did not make it though
Public funds for candidates for state office. Small Donor Elections legislation (SB1014) would have established a program to provide public matching funds on a 6-1 ratio to candidates for State Representative or State Senator who choose to participate in the program. Those participating candidates would have been required to limit to amount of private contributions you could receive in exchange to having public funds for their campaigns. Each limited private contribution up to $250 would have been matched on a 6-1 basis. This legislation died in committee with the end of the session.
Ballot Referral
Oregon is only one of 4 states with no limits on money in politics. Well, we actually do have limits; they just are not enforced due to various OR Supreme Court decisions declaring that, because of our "strong" free speech protection in the OR Constitution, they cannot be enforced. Oregon citizen advocates were able to pressure OR legislators to refer to voters a ballot measure (SJR18) to amend the OR constitution to allow limits on campaign contribution. This will be on the ballot in Nov 2020. Watch for news of the campaign to support and get this enacted.
Click here to see the history of votes on this legislation.
Enacted
National Popular Vote. National Popular Vote is a change in how US Electoral College votes are cast so that the US Presidential candidate receiving the most national popular votes from the states and District of Columbia will receive the Electoral College votes of those states which adopt the program. This legislation (SB870) had been introduced several times in the past, only to get stuck in the OR Senate, even though it had been approved in the House each session. This year it was approved in both the House and Senate, and the Governor has signed it.
Click here to see the history of votes on this legislation.
Postage paid envelops Starting in 2020, all mail-in ballots in Oregon will be free to return through the mailbox. No stamps are necessary! Legislation is in SB861 See the history of votes on this legislation here.
But something important did not make it though
Public funds for candidates for state office. Small Donor Elections legislation (SB1014) would have established a program to provide public matching funds on a 6-1 ratio to candidates for State Representative or State Senator who choose to participate in the program. Those participating candidates would have been required to limit to amount of private contributions you could receive in exchange to having public funds for their campaigns. Each limited private contribution up to $250 would have been matched on a 6-1 basis. This legislation died in committee with the end of the session.
Lead: David Delk
- continued support for a US Constitutional amendment with two pillars - money is not speech and corporations are not people
- support for efforts to be identified to develop an effective democracy - such efforts might include limits on campaign contributions/expenditures, public funding of candidates, ranked choice voting, gerrymandering, full voting rights for felons, full disclosure of political ad funders
Actions
Deepening Democracy supports National Popular Vote
Dec. 11, 2018
Deepening Democracy supports the National Popular Vote as an alternative to the present Electoral College system. NPV uses provisions in the US Constitution which allow each state to decide how to select their electors. NPV would require that electors from NPV approving states vote for the presidential candidate with the plurality of votes. The existing situation with the second place candidate becoming the president would not longer be possible.
More information here. This is a flyer written by Alliance for Democracy in 2017. While old, the issue is still the same.
Dec. 11, 2018
Deepening Democracy supports the National Popular Vote as an alternative to the present Electoral College system. NPV uses provisions in the US Constitution which allow each state to decide how to select their electors. NPV would require that electors from NPV approving states vote for the presidential candidate with the plurality of votes. The existing situation with the second place candidate becoming the president would not longer be possible.
More information here. This is a flyer written by Alliance for Democracy in 2017. While old, the issue is still the same.
