Protect Voter’s Privacy Act
Oregon has some of the most open public records laws in the entire country. Oregonians pride themselves on having and demanding an open and accountable government.Oregon is also the only state in the Union where our elections are conducted completely by mail. Finally, Oregonians enjoy one of the most active, open and accessible initiative and referendum systems in the entire country. All three of these things — open records, vote by mail, and the “Oregon system” of initiatives and referenda – are what make Oregon government so responsive and responsible to the electorate.
Unfortunately, special interest groups are using Oregon’s open records laws, Oregon’s unique vote-by-mail system, and Oregon’s initiative and referendum system to harass and intimidate voters. While Oregonians certainly support open and accountable government, we will not support practices that exploit our open record laws for purely political gain, at the expense of the personal privacy and safety of Oregonians.
The Protect Voter’s Privacy Act has two components, one relates to vote-by-mail and one relates to initiatives and referenda. Each component, though, will protect Oregonians from harassment by suspect special interests with improper motives.
First, because Oregon’s elections are conducted completely by mail, rather than having one election day, Oregonians enjoy 20 election days. That is, elections start the day that ballots are put in the mail to voters and elections end the Election Day. Most Oregonians wait until the final weekend before Election Day before casting their ballot. Oregonians may have noticed that the longer you hold onto your ballot, the more telephone calls, and even knocks on your door, you receive from special interest groups urging you to turn in your ballot. Some of these groups have employed, at times, tactics that border on intimidation and harassment.
The reason why this harassment occurs is because special interest groups obtain lists from county clerks each day during Oregon’s election period that tell these special interest groups who has and who has not yet voted in the election. People who vote early are not intimidated or harassed. People who vote late in the process are targeted by these groups.
The Protect Voter’s Privacy Act will prohibit county elections officers from releasing this list of names indicating who has and who has not yet voted until after the election has concluded. This measure will put an end to the harassing and intimidating phone calls and face to face confrontations that many special interest groups use in disguise as “get out the vote” efforts.
Second, a recent tactic by extreme organizations is to photocopy initiative and referendum sheets, and then list the names of the citizens who signed the petition on a website, basically creating a “hate list”. As an example, opponents of same-sex marriage circulated a petition to repeal the state’s recently passed law that allowed for same-sex marriages in Washington. The militant supporters of gay marriage in Washington threatened to take the names of the people who signed the petitions and publish those names on a website, ostensibly labeling signers of the petition as “bigots”. Nobody should be harassed in this manner for simply expressing support (or opposition) to a matter of public policy.
The Protect Voter’s Privacy Act will prohibit the release of initiative or referendum petitions before the petitions are turned in to the Oregon Secretary of State. This measure will protect people who sign an initiative or referendum petition from harassment from others who would rather silence the voices of Oregonians.
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