League of Women Voters proposes that Deschutes County Commissioners be Non-Partisan

The non-partisan League of Women Voters is sponsoring a ballot initiative to change the county commissioner seats from partisan to non-partisan. They are requesting your support by signing a petition to get the initiative on the ballot.

Why do voters need the opportunity to vote non-partisan for County Commissioners?

• Candidates for County Commissioner are the ONLY elected officials in the county that are still selected by political parties.
• A third of Deschutes County voters are registered as non-affiliated and are not able to vote in party primaries for a commission candidate.
• Of the 36 Oregon counties, only 10 still have partisan races and Deschutes is one of them.
• Local government has no need for partisan decisions at the county level. Commissioners are full-time employees with an administrative role in addition to their policy-setting role.
• Partisan races tend to favor more extreme-leaning candidates.
• The public is easily aware of the political party affiliation of candidates without them being chosen by the party.
• Moderates and third-party candidates would enter each election on an even playing field with major party candidates.

To sign the petition, please contact Mimi Alkire at: mimi.alkire@gmail.com. She will let you know when and where volunteers will be collecting signatures or she can have a volunteer come to you.
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Petition Circulators are needed in your neighborhood. Let Mimi know if you’d like to volunteer.