Current News

The union representing Oregon carpenters says the money is meant for long-term political giving, not just the 2026 elections.

Elections have consistently broken spending records in the state in recent years, largely due to corporate money. A ballot measure known as the Montana Plan aims to eliminate that kind of spending in Montana, sidestepping a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling. That would make the state a national legal test case.

Kotek has raised $14.7 million since January 2025, compared with $11.4 million for Drazan in that same period.

Most voters have messier views than their partisan labels would suggest.

Julie Fahey’s cerebral style helped her rise. Now it’s being tested.

A 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for corporations, unions and other groups to spend unlimited money on politics. Oregon organizers trying to join a state-by-state effort limiting […]

The proposed measure would eliminate independent expenditures from powerful groups, commonly referred to as dark money.

At least $1 billion from anonymous donors is flowing into the midterm elections. Dark money is not new, but it now permeates nearly every major contest.

About $1 billion in anonymous contributions is coursing through midterm races across the country. Figuring out where the funds are coming from is no easy task.

Two candidates are chasing them while a third rejects them outright.

The plaintiffs are asking a federal judge to order a new, independent review of all gathered signatures.

The chief petitioners are demanding a recount of the signatures.

A campaign finance proposal being prepared for a possible 2028 Oregon ballot could change how corporations and other organizations spend money in elections

The proposal uses a playbook, growing nationwide, that could test how far states can go to rein in big spending in politics.

How did corporate money end up flooding political campaigns? We take a look at the Supreme Court’s many decisions that brought us to 2010’s Citizens United ruling.

As citizens have increasingly employed their powers to make or change law, state officials have used a variety of tactics to make doing so more difficult.

A fight over a controversial police funding measure could be headed to the court after the initiative fell 6,000 signatures short of making it onto the ballo...

The Portland City Elections office announced Tuesday that backers of the Enhanced Community Safety initiative did not submit enough valid signatures.

A ballot initiative that sought to direct 25 percent of Portland’s Clean Energy Fund toward hiring additional police officers failed to gather enough valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The Portland City Auditor’s Office, which houses Portland’s Elections Division, confirmed Tuesday afternoon that after sampling and verification, the number of qualified signatures for […]

Nearly 100 Portlanders file complaints of being misled or lied to over a ballot measure that would divert Portland’s climate funds toward hiring more police officers.

The proposed ballot measure will not go in front of city voters in November.

The initiative seeking to reroute 25% of Portland Clean Energy Fund tax revenues to hiring some 400 police officers has failed to qualify for the November ballot. The initiative previously failed to qualify in its first sample. It has now failed the second and final sample.

The complaint alleges that canvassers repeatedly failed to carry a copy of the ballot initiative’s complete text and falsely stated that the measure would hire mental health responders and 911 dispatchers.

Only one citizen petition is on track for the November ballot, a drop from previous election cycles.

It’s time to establish equal voting rights for nonaffiliated voters, write leaders of an initiative petition who will now seek legislative help opening primaries.

House Bill 16, which would reimpose limits on donations to candidates, may pre-empt a measure already scheduled for an August vote.

Just how deep the antipathy — in Oregon at least — toward both major political parties actually is, may be tested seriously in this year’s elections. The test may not involve outright wins and losses, but the percentages will be worth watching. What’s new is the changed electoral strategy of the Independent Party of Oregon, […]

Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill that makes changes to campaign finance, angering advocacy groups who say they will put their own plan to voters in 2028.

Using philanthropy for campaign donations is illegal. But an exception for some nonprofits has allowed Democratic billionaires like Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg to remain anonymous when they want to play politics.