Current News

Election reform advocates have proposed at the Oregon Legislature competing overhauls to how the state conducts its elections.

If you vote in Oregon, you’re probably accustomed to a relatively convenient, accessible voting process, giving Oregon one of the highest voter participation rates of any state in the country.  Such an achievement didn’t happen overnight. It’s been long in the making. But there is more work to be done. This session the Legislature is […]

In a political landscape dominated by two major parties, many people often overlook the choice to vote for a third party. However, third-party voting offers a valuable opportunity to challenge the status quo and bring fresh perspectives.

Open primaries allow voters to choose any party's primary, while closed primaries restrict participation to registered party members. Open primaries have higher turnout but face concerns of strategic voting, while closed primaries preserve party ideology.

City governments are not just where Americans feel the most impact of government on their daily lives – they’re the last line of defense against hyper-partisanship. A recent piece in The New York Times revealed a sign of increasing tensions to come: Swing state legislatures this session have passed increasingly partisan agendas without mandates. Local governments, generally non-partisan, are where we can reverse this trend and govern by consensus.

Newly released records show Gov. Kate Brown’s state staff shifted into overdrive to lay out her policy positions — and accomplishments — on education and other central campaign issues as the governor was running for re-election last year.

The state representative may have run afoul of Oregon ethics laws by lobbying for a controversial coal export project with a state agency whose budget he votes on.

Former Oregon House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, a Portland Democrat, announced on Monday she would suspend her campaign for secretary of state in light of a forthcoming story about her use of campaign funds.

Jennifer Williamson was considered a top candidate to be Oregon's next secretary of state. She is dropping out because of a forthcoming news story on her campaign expenditures. 

Williamson served in the legislature from 2012 to 2019, when she resigned to run for secretary of state.

Internal emails show a tax-funded agency created to educate people about forestry has acted as a public-relations agency and lobbying arm for Oregon's timber industry, in some cases skirting legal constraints that forbid it from doing so.

Oregon law currently bars legislators and other public officials from accepting more than $50 per year from any entity that wants to influence a government decision. Lawmakers are considering eliminating that limit.

Oregon state auditors released a report Wednesday that recommended several opportunities for legislators and other officials to strengthen the state's ethics laws and increase the independence of the state's ethics commission.

A state commission on government ethics could be strengthened and more independent, state auditors said in a report Wednesday.

In February 2020, Gov. Kate Brown's staff asked state procurement officials to prepare a no-bid contract worth up to $150,000 for her former communications director so he could assist with Oregon’s share of work on the Western Governors’ Association electric vehicle recommendations.

Internal emails show a tax-funded agency created to educate people about forestry has acted as a public-relations agency and lobbying arm for Oregon's timber industry, in some cases skirting legal constraints that forbid it from doing so.

A draft proposal by the five-person salary commission proposes a pay hike for officials elected to Portland’s new form of government in 2025, which will expand the size of City Council from four to 12 members.

Portland leaders will consider updating the city’s publicly-funded campaign finance program Wednesday in preparation for an unprecedented 2024 election.

Democrats seek to make referring a new corporate tax measure to the ballot more difficult by changing the law on electronic signature gathering.

Senate Bill 761, which seeks to restrict a popular way by which Oregonians get initiatives on the ballot, would help legislators keep tight control over what becomes – and what stays law. Legislators should trust their voters and reject this bill.

Democratic lawmakers are moving to more tightly regulate electronic petitions, which are becoming more popular for initiative, recall and referendum campaigns in Oregon.

The ruling by a three-judge panel is the most authoritative opinion yet in a monthslong battle over how Secretary of State Bev Clarno handles ballot measures.