Elections

League of Women Voters^®
of Marion and Polk Counties

The League's educational activities before elections and where to register to vote

Candidate Forums for Fall 2008. Candidate Forums on CCTV. Your Vote Counts on CCTV. LWVOR Voters' Guide. Think before you ink!. Register to Vote. Speakers Bureau on Ballot Measures. National Election Information.

Candidate Forums for Fall 2008 Election

Dorothy Eberhardt, Voter Service Chair
Everyone should plan to attend the

Candidate Forum for Oregon House Districts 19, 20, and 22 on Thursday, September 18, at 6:30 p.m. in Loucks Auditorium

Candidate Forum for Oregon Secretary of State and Marion County Clerk on Thursday, October 2, at 6:30 p.m. at Chemeketa Community College

LWVMPC is a co-sponsor of these City Club forums.

A forum on three local bond measures on schools, streets, and transit on Thursday, October 16, is planned by City Club. Details will be in the October Focus.

Candidate Forums on CCTV, Channel 21

Before major elections, the local League sponsors candidate forums either live or broadcast on the local cable channel CCTV. Local candidates for each contested office appear together to answer questions prepared by the League.

Your Vote Counts on CCTV

Before elections the League's Voter Service committee conducts candidate forums for contested local offices as well as ballot measure explanations at CCTV. The broadcast schedule is then posted on this page.

LWVOR Voters' Guide

Before elections the League of Women Voters of Oregon prepares a non-partisan, unbiased Voters' Guide which includes information about state ballot measures as well as state candidates' answers to questions posed by the League.
The Voters' Guide is distributed with many of the state's newspapers, is available at public libraries, and is on the LWVOR website at http://www.lwvor.org during the month before a major election.

Think before you ink!

The League of Women Voters of Oregon is encouraging its members and the public to be cautious during this period of circulation of initiative petitions. Voters will be asked to sign a variety of initiative petitions "just to get it on the ballot so people can vote on it."
The League is telling voters, "Your signature is valuable, more valuable than your vote, considering that far fewer signatures are required to qualify a petition for the ballot than votes to pass it on the ballot. Only sign an initiative petition that you believe belongs on the ballot."
LWVOR lists six questions voters can ask themselves to help them determine whether or not to sign an initiative petition:
Is it complex? Some issues can be decided by a simple yes or no vote. Complex issues may need to be thoroughly examined and debated in a legislative arena.
Is it confusing? Some initiatives are not well written or contain conflicts that may require court resolution or interpretation.
Does it belong in the Constitution? If an initiative amends the Constitution, consider whether it really belongs there. Is it a fundamental law that should be protected from change? Correcting a constitutional amendment later would require another vote of the people to amend the Constitution again, which is cumbersome and costly.
How will it be funded? Is it an "unfunded mandate" that would require the Legislature to take funds from other essential programs? Consider the effect on the overall flexibility of a government budget with already limited revenue. An initiative should generally create its own revenue source and not earmark, restrict, or obligate a specific percentage of the General Fund revenues.
Who is behind it? You can find out who are the real sponsors and opponents of a petition. Contribution and expenditure reports are available through the Election Division at 503-986-1518 and are also online at http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/.
Before you sign, ask to see identification of the signature gatherer. Paid signature gatherers are now required to carry and display a picture ID issued by the Secretary of State. Numerous instances of fraud have occurred that could have been avoided by insisting on seeing identification. And if a case of fraud is found, you will have information that could assist authorities.

Register to Vote

Are you registered to vote? Do you want to change your party, your address, your name?
Contact the Elections Office in your county.

Marion County Elections Office, 4263 Commercial St. SE, Salem, Oregon--503-588-5041

Polk County Elections Office in the Courthouse at 689 Main St., Dallas, Oregon--503-623-9217

Registering now will have you ready for the next election.

Speakers' Bureau on Ballot Measures

The League of Women Voters of Marion and Polk Counties offers a Speakers' Bureau on the ballot measures before an election.
To schedule a speaker for your organization contact Sharon Johnson at VoterService@marionpolk.or.lwvnet.org.

National Election Information

Take a look at the Vote Smart Web Site, http://www.votesmart.org, and click on the "Presidential Candidates." You can find the candidates' voting records and how they voted as rated by issue groups.
Another source of information is at www.YouTube.com. Click on "Face the Candidates" for information about the presidential candidates and issues.

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: August 22, 2008 14:09 PDT.