For the first time in Oregon, all registered Libertarian voters can take part in a statewide primary election to nominate their candidates for office. All approximately 13,000 members should receive an announcement the Libertarian Party of Oregon (LPO) mailed last week.
Until this year the party chose its nominees in conventions, usually attended by a few dozen members. “Eliminating the travel barrier, the mail ballot will boost participation dramatically,” state chair Wes Wagner said, “and will get far more Libertarians into the general election this fall.”
With statewide ballot access since 1980, Oregon Libertarians can run for 16 state senate and all 60 state house seats, Oregon attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer and all five U.S. congressional seats. “We’re working to fill all 84 of those slots,” Wagner said, “plus local partisan offices. More voters than ever disapprove of the major parties, and we will offer a better choice.”
The Libertarian ballot, to be held in June, will not be tax-funded like the major party primaries. “We’re relying on voluntary funding from regular people who believe in liberty and responsibility. Folks putting their money where their mouths are, to make Oregon a better place for their kids and grandkids,” Wagner said.
The June instant-runoff ballot will also give Libertarians a yes-or-no option to ratify new party rules. The Libertarian Party will nominate candidates for president and vice president at its national convention in Las Vegas, May 2-6.
The LPO urges voters to log into www.lporegon.org for more information and to nominate themselves for office in their districts by returning an enclosed form. The interactive website features announced candidates, user forums, party news and documents, political links, and social utilities. Primary voters who include a private personal identification number on their ballots will be able to verify on-line that their own ballots were recorded properly, without compromising the confidentiality of their votes.
“We’re going all out to make this primary more secure and more transparent than the tax-funded ones,” Wagner said. “The instant-runoff rules will be posted on-line, and the ballot opening and sorting will be open to well-behaved observers.
“Our goal, above and beyond the elections, is protecting the peaceful exercise of individual rights. Voters want more honesty and integrity in candidates and their parties, and it’s up to Libertarians to set a better example.”
Contact: Bruce A. Knight, LPO Secretary 503-774-3832 b.a.knight@gmail.com
