Ballot Measure 65 was an

initiated state statute In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...

ballot measure A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

for the November 4, 2008 general election ballot in the state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. If it had passed, it would have replaced the current

closed primary Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

election system for partisan offices, in which each political party nominates its own candidate for the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. The system proposed by Measure 65 bore similarities to a

blanket primary The blanket primary is a system used for selecting political party candidates in a primary election, used in Argentina and historically in the United States. In a blanket primary, voters may pick one candidate for each office without regard to par ...

and

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party. ...

. Under Measure 65, voters would have received the same ballot regardless of their own party registration. For each partisan position, the ballot would list all candidates, also without regard for party registration. Voters would choose one candidate, and the two candidates with the most votes would advance to the November general election. The measure would have affected chapters 188.120, 254.056 and 254.115 of the

Oregon Revised Statutes The Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) is the codified body of statutory law governing the U.S. state of Oregon, as enacted by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, and occasionally by citizen initiative. The statutes are subordinate to the Oregon Constitu ...

, and repealed chapters 254.025 and 254.365. Former Oregon Secretaries of State

Phil Keisling Phil Keisling (born June 23, 1955) is an American politician and business executive in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served as Oregon Secretary of State from 1991 to 1999 and previously served in the Oregon House of Representatives. He is known ...

and

Norma Paulus Norma Jean Paulus (née Petersen; March 13, 1933 – February 28, 2019) was an American lawyer and politician in the state of Oregon. A native of Nebraska, she was raised in Eastern Oregon before becoming a lawyer. A Republican, she first h ...

were the chief petitioners in favor of the measure. Proponents of Measure 65 argued that the closed primary unfairly excluded voters with no party affiliation, and that voters should be able to vote for any primary election candidate they wished, regardless of the party affiliation of either the voter or the candidate. Opponents of the measure countered that every voter is free to register as a member of a political party to participate in the primary, and criticized the possibility that a general election race could have two candidates from the same party.Voters' Pamphlet includes Measure 65: Arguments in Opposition
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Notes

External links

Voter's Pamphlet information
from the Oregon Secretary of State
Yes on 65 campaign website

No on 65 campaign website
2008 Oregon ballot measures Initiatives in the United States Electoral system ballot measures in the United States {{oregon-gov-stub

See also

Notes

External links