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Calendar 

Tuesday 9/14 - Conversation about Traffic Safety and Transportation on Foster - Kern Park Church 6828 SE Holgate - 6:30-8:00pm
 Elections and Government: Looking Forward 
Election reform, as well as reform to the political process in general, is a particular passion of mine. It framed the way that I ran for office and it also frames the way that I do my job as a state legislator. During the interim, my staff and I will continue to work toward passing legislation that will increase voter turnout and devalue the role of money in politics. We will be working on:
  • Same Day Registration. During the 2007 and sessions,  I put forward a constitutional referral to pave the way toward same-day registration in Oregon. Ever since 1986, Oregon's Constitution has stipulated a 20-day voter registration cutoff - meaning that someone who gets around to registering only a week or two before the election will find that he or she is too late. Oregon's early registration cutoff has serious consequences for the openness, fairness, and accessibility of our elections system. Young people are particularly affected, since they are more likely to be first-time registrants, they move more frequently, and they are perhaps less likely to be paying attention months before Election Day. Same-day registration would help our heritage of expanding citizen participation in governance. It is the missing link in making Oregon's system the most accessible, fair, and safe in the country.

  • DMV Voter Registration. Far from a new idea, automatic voter registration at DMV came up during the 2008 special session and again in 2009. This is a great idea that makes every eligible holder of a driver's license a registered voter.

  • Campaign Finance Reform. As the only member of the Oregon Legislature who does not take money from political action committees or corporations, I am part of an ongoing effort to set limits on campaign donations. In 2009, I introduced HB 3404 , which would have established voter owned elections in Oregon, and I plan to continue work toward a public financing option for candidates for office going forward.
 Elections and Government: Accomplishments 

Online Voter Registration - 2009
 In 2007, Reed College student Joey Mornin emailed me with a great question. Why doesn't Oregon follow Washington and Arizona in establishing an online voter registration system? Well, starting just in time for the 2010 primary election, online voter registration will be an option for Oregonians with a valid Oregon driver license, permit or ID thanks to the passage of HB 2386. 

Citizen Initiative Review - 2009
HB 2895 provides for the publication of up to three Citizens' Initiative Review reports in the 2010 voter's pamphlet. It is hard to find reliable, unbiased information on ballot measures and I am hopeful that Citizens' Initiative Review will fill that gap.

Government Transperancy - 2009
HB 2500 creates a website that will allow Oregonians to access information about state government online, including revenue, expenditure, audit and agency program information from each state agency.

Legislative Ethics Reform - 2007
SB 10 limits gifts from lobbyists and stiffens penalties for ethical violations. It closes the "revolving door" by prohibiting lawmakers from becoming lobbyists in the first year after leaving public service, increases fines for ethics violations from $1000 to $5000, reduces the lobbyist-paid food and drink limit to $50 annually, and requires quarterly financial disclosure reports for legislators and lobbyists. It also requires the reports to be posted online for the public. Further, it provides an independent funding source for the Government Standards and Practices Commission, Oregon's independent ethics commission. SB 10 is among the toughest ethics laws for public officials in the country.

Separately, the Legislature also doubled the budget for the Government Ethics Commission.

Advance Voter Registration for 17-Year-Olds - 2007
HB 2910 allows all 17-year-olds to register to vote in preparation to vote at age 18. It updates the existent law that only allows voter registration by 17-year-olds within 60 days of an election for which they will be age 18 or above.

 Elections and Government News 

Representative Ben Cannon
900 Court St. NE H-484, Salem, OR 97301 (503) 986-1446
rep.bencannon@state.or.us

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