Oregon Ballot Measure 60 (1998)
Encyclopedia
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
established vote-by-mail
Postal voting
Postal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....
as the standard mechanism for voting with Ballot Measure 60, a citizen's initiative, in 1998. The measure made Oregon the first state in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to conduct its elections exclusively by mail. The measure passed on November 3, 1998, by a margin of 69.4% to 30.6%.
History of postal voting in Oregon
Vote-by-mailPostal voting
Postal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....
had already been implemented to a lesser degree in Oregon:
- 1981 The Oregon Legislative AssemblyOregon Legislative AssemblyThe Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
approves vote-by-mail for local elections, at the discretion of the county; at least one polling place in the county had to remain open on election day. - 1987 Vote-by-mail becomes permanent, with the majority of Oregon's counties making use of it.
- 1989 A HouseOregon House of RepresentativesThe Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....
bill to extend vote-by-mail to include the 1990 primary elections was defeated in a 33–27, non-party-line vote. - 1992 Governor's Task Force on Local Government Services identifies statewide vote-by-mail as one of the most significant opportunities to save money on conducting elections.
- 1995 Oregon becomes the first state to conduct a federalFederal government of the United StatesThe federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
primary election totally by mail. - 1996 U.S SenatorUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Ron WydenRon WydenRonald Lee "Ron" Wyden is the senior U.S. Senator for Oregon, serving since 1996, and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1996....
is elected by mail with a 66% turnout, succeeding Bob PackwoodBob PackwoodRobert William "Bob" Packwood is a U.S. politician from Oregon and a member of the Republican Party. He resigned from the United States Senate, under threat of expulsion, in 1995 after allegations of sexual harassment, abuse and assault of women emerged.-Early life and career:Packwood was born in...
. - 1998 Oregonians confirm their overwhelming support for vote-by-mail by passing Measure 60.
- 2000 Oregon becomes the first state in the nation to conduct a presidential election entirely by mail. About 80% of registered voters participated.
Measure 60 eliminated restrictions on vote-by-mail and established it as the single form of voting for elections in Oregon. It also required vote-by-mail to be used for biennial primaries and general elections as well as eliminating polling places.
Supporters
Organizations which supported the initiative included the League of Women VotersLeague of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters is an American political organization founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the last meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote...
of Oregon, the Oregon League of Conservation Voters
League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters is a political advocacy organization founded in 1969 by American environmentalist David Brower in the early years of the environmental movement. LCV's mission is to "advocate for sound environmental policies and to elect pro-environmental candidates who will adopt...
, AARP
AARP
AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is the United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California, and based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement, it is "a...
of Oregon, and Oregon Education Association
Oregon Education Association
The Oregon Education Association is the largest public education employees' union in the U.S. state of Oregon, representing more than 46,000 teachers and classified personnel. It has local affiliates in each of the state's 199 public school districts, and 8 community colleges...
. Individuals which supported the measure included then-Governor
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
John Kitzhaber
John Kitzhaber
John Albert Kitzhaber is the 37th Governor of Oregon. He served as the 35th Governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003 and became the first person to be elected to the office three times when he was re-elected to a non-consecutive third term in 2010...
, Oregon Secretary of State
Oregon Secretary of State
The Secretary of State of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in line of succession to the Governor. The duties of office are: auditor of public accounts, chief elections officer, and administrator of public...
Phil Keisling
Phil Keisling
Phil Keisling is a politician and business executive in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served as Oregon Secretary of State from 1991 to 1999...
, and former U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield
Mark Hatfield
Mark Odom Hatfield was an American politician and educator from the state of Oregon. A Republican, he served for 30 years as a United States Senator from Oregon, and also as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee...
. Supporters of the measure asserted that it would increase voter participation and make elections more convenient for voters. The State of Oregon would also save an estimated $3 million dollars a year, in years which a primary and general election occur.
Opponents
Notable opposition to the measure included State RepresentativeOregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....
Lynn Snodgrass
Lynn Snodgrass
Lynn Snodgrass is a politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. She served in the Oregon House of Representatives. A Republican, she was elected Speaker in 1998, succeeding fellow Republican Lynn Lundquist. At the time, many Republicans felt Lundquist was too accommodating to Democratic Governor John...
and anti-tax activist Bill Sizemore
Bill Sizemore
Bill Sizemore is a political activist in Redmond, Oregon, United States. Sizemore has never held elected office, but has nonetheless been a major political figure in Oregon since the 1990s. He is considered one of the main proponents of the Oregon tax revolt, a movement that seeks to reduce taxes...
. Opponents claimed the system would invite election fraud as well as the possibility of people pressuring each other in terms of how they vote. Sizemore stated in an online column in April 2003 that the vote-by-mail system "is a formula for election fraud." He also stated that, "Vote by mail is a system designed for honest people. It is predicated on the notion that people are basically good and won’t cheat."
Lasting popularity
Vote-by-mail in Oregon has maintained a high level of support since it was passed in 1998. A survey done in 2003 by Dr. Priscilla Southwell, a professor of Political Science at University of OregonUniversity of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
, shows that 81% of respondents favored the vote-by-mail system. 19% favored voting at the polls. The poll also shows high favorability among both registered Democrats
Democratic Party of Oregon
The Democratic Party of Oregon, based in Portland, is the official Oregon affiliate of the United States Democratic Party. It is recognized by the state of Oregon as a major political party, along with the Oregon Republican Party...
(85%) and Republicans
Oregon Republican Party
The Oregon Republican Party is the state affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Oregon, headquartered in Lake Oswego. The first state party convention was held in Salem on April 21, 1859, and its first nominee for Congress, Portland attorney David Logan...
(76%). 30% of respondents said they voted more often since vote-by-mail was enacted.