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Sen. Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump both declared during the 2016 election that the system is rigged. But their ideas of what constitutes rigging are different. We agree with Bernie's concerns about the system, so we are paying attention to election integrity (fraudulent electronic vote counting), gerrymandering, voter suppression, attacks on the Voting Rights Act, Supreme Court decisions that reduce or eliminate limits on campaign contributions/expenditures, "dark money" and the influence of the electoral college.
Limiting campaign contributions/expenditures
In Portland....
Nov 2018 Update: Portland Voters approved limits on campaign contributions by almost 87% approval.
Portland voters will have the opportunity in Nov 2018 to end political corruption in city elections. Supporters of campaign finance limits collected over 55,000 signatures on a ballot measure petition, and the City elections office has certified that it will be on the November ballot. More information is available at www.honest-elections.com.
Several press stories reported this
Willamette Week: Portland measure to cap campaign contributions will be on the November ballot
Portland Tribune: Contribution caps headed to November ballot
This is press release from Honest Elections.
Nov 2018 Update: Portland Voters approved limits on campaign contributions by almost 87% approval.
Portland voters will have the opportunity in Nov 2018 to end political corruption in city elections. Supporters of campaign finance limits collected over 55,000 signatures on a ballot measure petition, and the City elections office has certified that it will be on the November ballot. More information is available at www.honest-elections.com.
Several press stories reported this
Willamette Week: Portland measure to cap campaign contributions will be on the November ballot
Portland Tribune: Contribution caps headed to November ballot
This is press release from Honest Elections.
Portland Campaign Finance Reform Measure will be on November Ballot
County and City confirm that sufficient signatures were submitted
The Portland Campaign Finance Reform Charter Amendment will appear on the November 2018 ballot in the City of Portland.
Multnomah County and the City of Portland today confirmed that supporters had submitted sufficient signatures to quality for the ballot. The required number of valid signatures of Portland registered voters was 34,156.
The initiative is supported by Honest Elections Portland, Oregon Progressive Party, Pacific Green Party, Multnomah Democratic Party, Independent Party of Oregon, Physicians for Social Responsibility, 350PDX, Bernie PDX, Move to Amend, Portland Clean Air, Alliance for Democracy, and many others.
Not even fire at City Hall could stop the campaign finance reformers. When they arrived there to submit all of their signatures on July 6, City Hall was evacuated and closed due to a fire. The building was surrounded by fire engines. But they got into the building before the 5:00 pm legal deadline for submitting the signatures.
"We thank our dozens of volunteers and also thank the volunteers of the Portland Clean Energy Fund initiative, who collected thousands of signatures on the campaign finance reform measure," said Liz Trojan, one of the chief petitioners of the Portland Campaign Finance Reform Charter Amendment.
This measure is like Multnomah County Measure 26-184 (2016), which amended the Multnomah County Charter to limit political campaign contributions and expenditures in candidate elections and to require that political ads prominently disclose their actual major funders (not just nice-sounding names of committees or nonprofit corporations).
"Voters approved that measure with an 89% `yes' vote in 2016, and we will do the same in Portland in November 2018," said organizer and Portland attorney Jason Kafoury.
The Portland Campaign Finance Reform Charter Amendment would extend the same protections to City of Portland elections, including Mayor, City Council, and City Auditor:
PDX-03 Limits on Campaign Contributions and Expenditures (per Election Cycle)
Oregon is one of only 5 states with no limits on political contributions. Candidates and public officials have become unduly beholden to the special interests able to contribute big money. Campaign spending in Oregon has skyrocketed by a factor of 10 (1,000%) since 1996.
The State Integrity Investigation of the Center for Public Integrity in November 2015 graded Oregon an overall "F" in systems to avoid government corruption. Oregon ranked 2nd worst of the 50 states in control of "Political Financing," beating only Mississippi.
Conversely, the Koch Brothers-funded so-called "Institute for Free Speech" in March 2018 ranked Oregon #1 in America for having the "best" system of campaign finance regulation -- no limits on contributions at all. The corporations and billionaires really like Oregon's system of no limits, because they can use their money to buy politicians.
THE OREGONIAN reported that candidates for the Oregon Legislature raise and spend more in their campaigns, per capita, than in any other state, except New Jersey. In 2014, Oregon House candidates on average spent 80% more than Washington House candidates, even though Washington's districts have more people. The average spent in 2014 by the top 10 Oregon Senate candidates rose to $750,000 each. The average spent in 2016 by the top 10 Oregon House candidates rose to $825,000 each. Some candidates spent over $1 million, over $80 per vote received.
The big money arms race infects local elections. The 2012 winner of Portland's mayorship spent over $1.7 million. His two primary opponents spent $1.4 million and $965,000. The 2016 winner spent $1 million in the primary alone. Most of the money comes from big donors, in chunks as large as $25,000 and even $60,000 per donor. The major corporate donors are typically property developers, construction companies, financial moguls, timber companies, rail contractors, and companies wanting government to pay more of the $1 billion+ tab for the Portland Harbor Superfund cleanup.
Portland should join Seattle by adopting limits on political campaign contributions, which are in place for 90% of local governments in the United States. The limits we propose are the same as those adopted by voters in Seattle in 2015: candidates may not receive contributions larger than $500 per donor.
The Corporate Reform Coalition (75 progressive organizations) in 2012 concluded that only 6 states have worse systems for disclosing independent expenditures. They graded Oregon an "F" in disclosure, while Washington earned an "A." Now, 10 states require that political ads identify their top funders, including California and Washington. For 93 years, Oregon had a law requiring that political ads at least identify their sources, but that law was repealed in 2001 by a Republican-majority Legislature and a Democratic Governor.
When Chevron, Inc. attempted to take over the government of the California city of Richmond (population 110,000) by running its hand-picked candidates for the mayorship and city council positions in 2014 (and spending over $3 million to fund their campaigns), all of Chevron's candidates lost--because of the California law that required its ads and brochures and billboards to say: "Major Funder: Chevron, Inc." All their opponents won, despite being outspent by about 50 to one. Voters need this information to judge the credibility of political ads. Oregon voters are in the dark.
Contact: [email protected]
For more information, contact:
Dan Meek
[email protected]
503-293-9021
Jason Kafoury
[email protected]
202-465-2764
Liz Trojan
[email protected]
503-970-2069
County and City confirm that sufficient signatures were submitted
The Portland Campaign Finance Reform Charter Amendment will appear on the November 2018 ballot in the City of Portland.
Multnomah County and the City of Portland today confirmed that supporters had submitted sufficient signatures to quality for the ballot. The required number of valid signatures of Portland registered voters was 34,156.
The initiative is supported by Honest Elections Portland, Oregon Progressive Party, Pacific Green Party, Multnomah Democratic Party, Independent Party of Oregon, Physicians for Social Responsibility, 350PDX, Bernie PDX, Move to Amend, Portland Clean Air, Alliance for Democracy, and many others.
Not even fire at City Hall could stop the campaign finance reformers. When they arrived there to submit all of their signatures on July 6, City Hall was evacuated and closed due to a fire. The building was surrounded by fire engines. But they got into the building before the 5:00 pm legal deadline for submitting the signatures.
"We thank our dozens of volunteers and also thank the volunteers of the Portland Clean Energy Fund initiative, who collected thousands of signatures on the campaign finance reform measure," said Liz Trojan, one of the chief petitioners of the Portland Campaign Finance Reform Charter Amendment.
This measure is like Multnomah County Measure 26-184 (2016), which amended the Multnomah County Charter to limit political campaign contributions and expenditures in candidate elections and to require that political ads prominently disclose their actual major funders (not just nice-sounding names of committees or nonprofit corporations).
"Voters approved that measure with an 89% `yes' vote in 2016, and we will do the same in Portland in November 2018," said organizer and Portland attorney Jason Kafoury.
The Portland Campaign Finance Reform Charter Amendment would extend the same protections to City of Portland elections, including Mayor, City Council, and City Auditor:
PDX-03 Limits on Campaign Contributions and Expenditures (per Election Cycle)
- Prohibits contributions by corporations and other entities to candidates
- Limits candidate to receiving contributions:
- from any individual: $500
- from any political committee: $500
- Allows formation of Small Donor Committees (SDCs)
- SDC may accept only contributions in amounts of $100 or less per person per year
- SDC may contribute any amounts to candidate races and spend any amount on independent expenditures
- Limits individual independent expenditures in any race to $5,000 per year
- Limits political committee independent expenditures per race to $10,000 per year; must be funded by contributions from individuals of $500 or less
- Requires that 5 largest contributors (of $500 or greater) be listed on political advertisements; same requirements on ads funded by independent expenditures
Oregon is one of only 5 states with no limits on political contributions. Candidates and public officials have become unduly beholden to the special interests able to contribute big money. Campaign spending in Oregon has skyrocketed by a factor of 10 (1,000%) since 1996.
The State Integrity Investigation of the Center for Public Integrity in November 2015 graded Oregon an overall "F" in systems to avoid government corruption. Oregon ranked 2nd worst of the 50 states in control of "Political Financing," beating only Mississippi.
Conversely, the Koch Brothers-funded so-called "Institute for Free Speech" in March 2018 ranked Oregon #1 in America for having the "best" system of campaign finance regulation -- no limits on contributions at all. The corporations and billionaires really like Oregon's system of no limits, because they can use their money to buy politicians.
THE OREGONIAN reported that candidates for the Oregon Legislature raise and spend more in their campaigns, per capita, than in any other state, except New Jersey. In 2014, Oregon House candidates on average spent 80% more than Washington House candidates, even though Washington's districts have more people. The average spent in 2014 by the top 10 Oregon Senate candidates rose to $750,000 each. The average spent in 2016 by the top 10 Oregon House candidates rose to $825,000 each. Some candidates spent over $1 million, over $80 per vote received.
The big money arms race infects local elections. The 2012 winner of Portland's mayorship spent over $1.7 million. His two primary opponents spent $1.4 million and $965,000. The 2016 winner spent $1 million in the primary alone. Most of the money comes from big donors, in chunks as large as $25,000 and even $60,000 per donor. The major corporate donors are typically property developers, construction companies, financial moguls, timber companies, rail contractors, and companies wanting government to pay more of the $1 billion+ tab for the Portland Harbor Superfund cleanup.
Portland should join Seattle by adopting limits on political campaign contributions, which are in place for 90% of local governments in the United States. The limits we propose are the same as those adopted by voters in Seattle in 2015: candidates may not receive contributions larger than $500 per donor.
The Corporate Reform Coalition (75 progressive organizations) in 2012 concluded that only 6 states have worse systems for disclosing independent expenditures. They graded Oregon an "F" in disclosure, while Washington earned an "A." Now, 10 states require that political ads identify their top funders, including California and Washington. For 93 years, Oregon had a law requiring that political ads at least identify their sources, but that law was repealed in 2001 by a Republican-majority Legislature and a Democratic Governor.
When Chevron, Inc. attempted to take over the government of the California city of Richmond (population 110,000) by running its hand-picked candidates for the mayorship and city council positions in 2014 (and spending over $3 million to fund their campaigns), all of Chevron's candidates lost--because of the California law that required its ads and brochures and billboards to say: "Major Funder: Chevron, Inc." All their opponents won, despite being outspent by about 50 to one. Voters need this information to judge the credibility of political ads. Oregon voters are in the dark.
Contact: [email protected]
For more information, contact:
Dan Meek
[email protected]
503-293-9021
Jason Kafoury
[email protected]
202-465-2764
Liz Trojan
[email protected]
503-970-2069
