Thanks to Richard Winger of Ballot Access News for this post.
On August 17, the Oregon Secretary of State, Jeanne P. Atkins, released a new voter registration tally, which shows that the Independent Party, for the first time, has enough registered members to qualify for a primary. It needed a 5% tally and just barely made it. The Party will be permitted to participate in the May 2016 Primary Election.
The party has been ballot-qualified since 2007, but, like Oregon’s other parties, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, has been nominating by convention.
In order to qualify as a major political party in Oregon, a party must have 108,739 registered voters 275 days before the 2016 May Primary. The Independent Party of Oregon had 109,363 registered voters as of Aug. 16, the deadline.
The Independent Party will now have a much more difficult time cross-endorsing the nominees of other parties.
Minor Political parties will be able to participate in the November 2016 General Election by nominating candidates after the May Primary.
Parties that nominate by convention are free to nominate anyone who is a nominee of another party. But it is very difficult for two parties that each nominate by primary to nominate each others nominees.
No one can get on an Oregon primary ballot unless he or she is a registered member of that party. However, Oregon allows write-ins in primaries, so fusion between such parties is not completely banned.
The Independent Party was formed by Oregon voters who wanted to make it easier for independent candidates to get on the general election ballot.
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