Elections

League of Women Voters^®
of Marion and Polk Counties

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

Register to Vote. LWVOR Voters' Guide. Voters Guide to January 2010 Election. Initiative Petitions--Think before you ink!. Speakers Bureau on Ballot Measures. Local Candidate Forums on CCTV. LWV Explains Ballot Measures on CCTV. National Election Information.

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.

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.
Ballot Measure Research Process
Each state ballot measures is researched by a League member who then sends her draft report to the organizations supporting and opposing the measure. They send back suggested changes as well as their most important arguments pro and con. The researcher then revises her draft and sends it back to the organizations. When everyone agrees that the facts are correct, the draft goes to a League editing committee which makes sure that the explanation is clear, the language used is unbiased, and, to the extent possible, the pros and cons answer each other.

Voters' Guide to January 2010 Special Election

Read the LWVOR Voters' Guide at the League's education webpage at http://www.VoteSource.org.

Initiative Petitions--Think before you ink!

The League of Women Voters of Oregon (LWVOR) is encouraging its members and the public to be cautious when asked to sign an initiative petition. Voters may 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.

Speakers' Bureau on Ballot Measures

The League of Women Voters of Marion and Polk Counties offers a Speakers' Bureau on the state ballot measures before an election. The information for these presentations comes from the LWVOR Voters' Guide (see article below).
To schedule a speaker e-mail the League's Voter Service coordinator at Elections@marionpolk.or.lwvnet.org.

Local Candidate Forums on CCTV Channel 21

Before major elections, the local League sponsors candidate forums either live or broadcast on CCTV, the local cable channel #21. Local candidates for each contested office appear together to answer questions prepared by the League's Voter Service committee.

LWV Explains Ballot Measures on CCTV Channel 21

Before elections the League's Voter Service committee explains ballot measures and presents the pros and cons of each measure on CCTV Channel 21. The information for these presentations comes from the LWVOR Voters' Guide (see article below).

National Election Information

The League of Women Voters of the United States has much election information available on its elections website at http://VOTE411.org. Click on it for national, state, and local information.
A source of information about candidates is the Vote Smart Web Site, http://www.votesmart.org. You can find candidates' voting records and how they voted as rated by issue groups.

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: March 8, 2010 16:32 PST.