Ballot Measure 90 is intended to rectify a growing inequity
in Oregon primary elections . . . but it exacts too great a price.
Oregon has a closed primary system, which means voters can
only vote for candidates in the political party for which they are registered:
Democrats vote for Democrats, Republicans for Republicans.
This is a relic of elections in centuries past, when parties
chose their candidates in private meetings before they were presented to the
voters. Due to pressure from the general electorate and the courts, that morphed
into closed primary elections in which Democrats and Republicans select their
respective candidates for the general election.
The idea is that constitutionally guaranteed “free
associations” of Americans could affiliate, meet, agree on what they wanted,
etc.
But over the past few decades, more and more voters have
registered as Independent or non-party affiliated. I’ve seen various figures
for the number, but it’s definitely more than half a million Oregonians now.
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