Portlanders, do you feel vote ready for the November 7 election? In addition to the 8 statewide ballot questions, the Portland ballot will feature municipal elections, plus three other measures that voters will choose whether or not to approve. These other measures will be listed as Questions A-C on your ballot.
We endorse Question C, and here's a quick explainer as to why.
Question C is a proposed amendment to the City Charter. It asks voter if they want to change the qualification period for candidates to earlier dates. It means that a candidate can submit their nomination papers sooner ahead of an election.
We endorse Question C because it will give candidates more time to get their affairs in order and participate in the Clean Elections program. Under the current rules and timeline, candidates may declare their candidacy later in the election season and miss out on opportunities to participate in the Clean Elections program.
Additionally under the current system, a candidate could qualify for Clean Elections before being approved as a candidate. While it's unlikely, it's possible that a candidate could take public funds for their campaign but then not end up on the actual ballot. Question C syncs up the nomination and Clean Election timelines to help solve this potential problem.
This is why we endorse Question C and encourage you to vote YES!
Question C specifically asks:
Do you favor the change in the City Charter proposed by the City Council as provided in the summary below?
The amendment requires the City Clerk to make nomination petitions available 155 days prior to the election rather than the current 127 days and requires nomination petitions to be turned in no later than 99 days prior to the election rather than the current 71 days. The amendment also removes the earliest date a candidate can file nomination petitions, allowing a candidate to file once the candidate has received the required number of signatures.
To learn about the other ballot measures, check out Vote411.org.
Who's running as a Clean Elections candidate?
You can check the Portland city website to see which candidates have taken out Clean Elections papers. You can also check the candidates’ websites and social media. Feel free to ask them how they are funding their campaigns!