A look at the 14 statewide ballot measures related to election policy

Welcome to the Thursday, October 6, Brew. 

By: Samuel Wonacott

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Voters will decide 14 statewide ballot measures related to elections, voting, campaign finance, and term limits
2. Here’s how you can help us promote our mission of free access to unbiased election information!
3. Oregon voters to elect U.S. Representative in new 6th Congressional District

Voters will decide 14 statewide ballot measures related to elections, voting, campaign finance, and term limits 

This year, voters in 37 states will decide 137 statewide ballot measures. Those measures cover a variety of topics, from abortion to marijuana and beyond.  Today, let’s look at the 14 ballot measures in 10 states related to elections, voting, campaign finance, and term limits.

Elections and voting policy measures

Ten ballot measures address electoral systems and voting policies.

• Nevada: Nevadans will decide whether to follow Maine and Alaska in using a form of ranked-choice voting for congressional and certain state offices. Nevada Question 3 would establish an open top-five primary system and ranked-choice voting for general elections. 

• Alabama: Voters will decide on Amendment 4, which would prohibit changes to laws regulating elections within six months of general elections. 
• Arizona: Voters are deciding on two measures on election and voting. Proposition 131 would create the office of lieutenant governor. Arizona is one of five states without a lieutenant governor. Proposition 309 would add requirements for Arizona citizens casting a mail-in ballot, as well as change voter ID requirements for in-person voters.
• Connecticut: Connecticut voters will decide a constitutional amendment to allow no-excuse early voting. Connecticut is one of five states that has not enacted the policy in some form.
• Kansas: Voters will decide on an amendment requiring the election of county sheriffs in counties that haven’t abolished the office as of January 2022 and provide that sheriffs may be recalled from office.

• Louisiana: The Legislature sent a constitutional amendment to the Dec. 10 ballot that would add that “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be allowed to register and vote in this state.” 
• Ohio: Similar to Louisiana’s constitutional amendment, voters will be deciding on an amendment that would specifically prohibit local governments from allowing noncitizens or those who lack the qualifications of an elector to vote in local elections.
• Michigan: Voters will decide on Proposal 2. Proposal 2 would add several voting policies to the Michigan Constitution, such as nine days of early voting, allowing for voter ID or a signed affidavit to vote, and requiring military and overseas ballots postmarked by election day to be counted.
• Nebraska: Voters will decide Initiative 432, which would require a photo ID to vote. Twenty-one states require a photo voter ID to vote in person. Fourteen states require a non-photo ID to vote in person. Nebraska is one of 15 states without an ID requirement.

Campaigns and campaign finance

• Arizona: Voters will decide Proposition 211, which would require that persons or entities that make an independent expenditure of $50,000 or more on a statewide campaign or $25,000 or more on a local campaign must disclose the names of the people or businesses who originally earned the money being spent.
• Louisiana: voters will decide on a measure to allow classified service/civil service employees to publicly support the election campaigns of individuals in their immediate family when off duty.

Term limits

• Michigan: Michigan Proposal 1 would ​​change the term limits for state legislators from three 2-year terms (6 years) in the state House and two 4-year terms (8 years) in the state Senate to 12 combined years in the Legislature. It would also require that elected state legislative and state executive officials must file annual financial disclosure reports.
• North Dakota: Constitutional Measure 1 would limit the governor to two four-year terms and limit state legislators to serving eight years in the state House and eight years in the state Senate. Currently, North Dakota does not have any term limits on the governor or state legislators.

Click below to read more about this year’s ballot measures.

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Here’s how you can help us promote our mission of free access to unbiased election information!

Amid the heightened noise of election season in a deeply divided country, your support is more necessary than ever. By joining our recurring donor program, the Ballotpedia Society, you strengthen American communities and American democracy.

Voters are hungry for trustworthy, unbiased information—particularly about the local races and measures that directly affect their lives. To help us meet the urgent demand for coverage of all elections, we need 75 new members into the Ballotpedia Society before November 8.

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Oregon voters to elect U.S. Representative in new 6th Congressional District

Today is the 28th day of our 50 States in 50 days series, and we’re featuring Oregon, the Beaver State.

Week One: Pennsylvania, Indiana, South Dakota, Nebraska, North DakotaWeek Two: California, Georgia, Texas, MontanaWeek Three: North Carolina, Virginia, New Mexico, Illinois, IdahoWeek Four: Kentucky, Michigan, Arkansas, Minnesota, West VirginiaWeek Five: Vermont, Nevada, Wyoming, Arizona, OhioWeek Six: South Carolina, Iowa, Kansas

On the ballot in Oregon 

Voters in Oregon will elect one U.S. Senator and six U.S. Representatives, along with the offices of governor and labor commissioner.

Sixteen out of 30 seats are up for election in the Oregon State Senate, and all 60 seats are up for election in the Oregon House of Representatives. Voters will also elect candidates for the state supreme court and intermediate appellate courts.

At the municipal level, we’re covering elections in Portland, Salem, and Multnomah County.

There are two open U.S. House districts in Oregon and 24 open seats in the state legislature. Oregon Senate District 18 is up for special election. 

Redistricting highlights

After the 2020 census, the number of U.S. House districts in Oregon increased from five to six.

Congressional and state legislative elections will take place under new district lines following the census. Our side-by-side map comparison tool allows you to immediately see what redistricting looks like in your state. Here are the congressional maps in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle in Oregon:  

To use our tool to view Oregon’s state legislative maps in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle, visit our Oregon redistricting page. 

Partisan balance

• Both of Oregon’s U.S. Senators—Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden— are Democrats.
• Oregon’s U.S. House delegation includes four Democrats and one Republican.
• Democrats hold majorities in both chambers of the state legislature, with 18 Democrats and 11 Republicans in the Oregon State Senate and 36 Democrats and 23 Republicans in the Oregon House of Representatives. 
• Oregon has been a Democratic trifecta since 2013.
• Oregon has a Democratic triplex. The Democratic Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

Seats contested by only one major party

In 2022, 10 state legislative seats in Oregon, or 13% of all seats up for election, do not have major party competition. When a candidate from only one of either the Democratic or Republican parties runs for a state legislative seat, the seat is all but guaranteed to be won by that party.

Democrats are running in 92% of all state legislative races. Six state legislative seats (8% of all state legislative seats) do not feature a Democratic candidate and are likely to be won by a Republican.

Republicans are running in 95% of all state legislative races. Four seats (5% of all state legislative seats) do not feature a Republican candidate and are likely to be won by a Democrat.

Key races

• Oregon gubernatorial election, 2022: Tina Kotek (D), Christine Drazan (R), Betsy Johnson (I), and R. Leon Noble (L) are running. Kotek, Drazan, and Johnson have led in fundraising and media coverage. Kotek is the former speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, Drazan is the former Oregon House minority leader, and Johnson is a former Oregon state senator. Johnson served in the state Senate as a Democrat. Incumbent Governor Kate Brown (D) is term-limited. As of Sept. 1, 2022, Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated this election a toss-up.
• Oregon’s 5th Congressional District election, 2022: Jamie McLeod-Skinner (D) and Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R) are running. Incumbent Kurt Schrader (D) lost in the Democratic primary on May 17, 2022. As of Sept. 1, 2022, The Cook Political Report rated this election a toss-up. 
• Oregon’s 6th Congressional District election, 2022: Andrea Salinas (D) and Mike Erickson (R) are running. This district was one of seven new U.S. House districts created as a result of apportionment after the 2020 census. Click here to read more.

Ballot measures

There are four measures on the ballot this year in Oregon, including:

• Measure 111: Amends the Oregon Constitution to add that the state “ensure that every resident of Oregon has access to cost-effective, clinically appropriate and affordable health care as a fundamental right.”
• Measure 112: Repeals language allowing slavery or involuntary servitude as criminal punishments and authorizes an Oregon court or a probation or parole agency to order alternatives to incarceration for a convicted individual.
• Measure 113: Excludes state legislators from re-election for unexcused legislative absenteeism.
• Measure 114: Enacts a law outlining a procedure to apply for a permit-to-purchase a firearm and prohibits ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds.

In Oregon, a total of 275 ballot measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1985 and 2020. One hundred thirty-one ballot measures were approved, and 144 ballot measures were defeated.

Voting

• Oregon conducts its elections largely by mail. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. for those voting in person on Nov. 8.
• When registering to vote via the online registration platform, voters must provide a driver’s license or state ID card number driver’s license or state ID card number.
• Oregon exclusively uses a vote-by-mail system. As such, there is no need for explicit absentee or early voting procedures.
• To register to vote in Oregon, one must be a resident of Oregon, a United States citizen, and at least 16 years old. Voters must be at least 18 years old by the day of the election in order to receive a ballot. The deadline to register is 21 days before an election. For more information about voter ID requirements in Oregon, click here.
• In Oregon, voters may return their ballots to the office of the county clerk by mail or in person. A business reply envelope is provided to people who vote by mail. Oregon permits individuals to return ballots in-person to the county clerk’s office on behalf of an elector. The county clerk may only count a ballot if it is returned in the proper envelope, if that envelope is signed by the correct elector, and if the signature is verified.Use the Ballot Search tool provided by the Oregon Secretary of State office to check the status of your ballot.

Want to learn more about the elections you’ll be voting in this year? Click here to use our Sample Ballot Lookup tool!  

Click below to learn more about Oregon’s elections. 

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