If "faster-cheaper-better" is the mantra of the current era, last month's primary suggests that Oregon's system of conducting elections may be headed back toward the Stone Age. Faster? It was days after polls closed--not hours--before we knew the outcome of closely contested races. Cheaper? Candidates spent more money--$3.9 million--than in any previous primary. It was also the costliest to administer per vote cast. Better? This election generated less interest--and even less voter participation (just 34 percent of registered voters)--than any statewide primary in recorded Oregon history. What can be done to revive Oregon's electoral health? Here are a few suggestions: * Vote by mail. If all Oregon elections were conducted this way, the votes would be tallied sooner (faster); elections would cost less to administer (cheaper); and turnout would increase (better). * Hold primaries for local and state offices in September instead of May. Now that Oregon's presidential primary is held in March, the third Tuesday in May no longer holds special magic. Moving the primary to the fall would make the election season shorter--and easier on voters' attention spans. It would also be considerably less expensive--and less exhausting--for candidates. Perhaps most important, a shorter election season should invite greater attention to issues--leaving candidates less time to fill the airwaves with negative commercials. * Limit voting on initiative petitions to general elections. There will always be lower voter participation rates in primaries. This makes primaries less suitable for initiative petitions, which are designed to represent the voice of the entire electorate. Conducting initiative campaigns in the primary can result in horribly skewed outcomes--witness the recent failure of Measure 53--that can further sour voters. * Require real-time contribution and expenditure reporting through a centralized Web site maintained by the Secretary of State. This way voters--and journalists--can know at all times where special-interest money is going. The current system, in which voters may not become aware of contributions until well after the election, is inadequate. * Finance portions of campaigns for state office with public funds. Given a string of unfortunate rulings by the supreme courts of Oregon and the United States, this is the only realistic way to impose much-needed campaign-finance reforms. Such reforms could impose voluntary limits on fund-raising and spending and could require that only real people--and not special-interest groups--be allowed to give to political campaigns. * Fix some glitches in the system. Solutions include centralizing voter registration across Oregon so that voters cannot be registered in more than one county; shortening the registration cutoff period from 20 days to five; and providing registered voters with special notification as to the effect of recently enacted double and super majority rules on their failure to vote. If our elections begin to meet the demands of the times, we will feel better about participating in them. |
