Elections

Tinkering with how people get elected may not give the tinkerers what they hope for. But we think you should support the Deschutes County ballot measure that would make the elections nonpartisan for Deschutes County Commission.

If it passes in November, political parties would no longer nominate candidates for Deschutes County Commissioner. All eligible candidates would be placed on the ballot and no party affiliations would be listed.

That’s the biggest change.

It would also change some government records. Go to the county website and you can find a commissioner’s party affiliation next to their name in some places. That affiliation would no longer be recorded like that, except in voter registration.

Under the current system, tens of thousands of people get disenfranchised from key decisions in who gets to represent them on the commission. There are about 50,582 voters in Deschutes County registered as not affiliated with a party. That’s more than there are Democrats, 47,618, or Republicans, 44,576. In the May primary, nonaffiliated voters were not allowed to get any say in who the candidates would be on the November ballot.

Fair? We don’t think so.

Yes, you can change party affiliation easily in Oregon. Some people switch just so they can vote in a party primary. But people shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to participate in voting.

Another argument people advance for nonpartisan elections is that party primaries can favor less moderate candidates. More partisan voters are generally more likely to vote in party primaries. That makes it easier for more partisan candidates to get elected.

There is no guarantee that a less partisan candidate would be any better at governing than a more partisan candidate. But we do elect officials to solve problems. Maybe, and we stress the maybe, the change would encourage more commissioners to look for solutions without an ideological lens.

The advantage of keeping the partisan races and partisan identifiers are at least two. It keeps the parties stronger. That might be important to some. Party affiliation also gives people a shortcut to understanding what a commissioner or commission candidate might stand for.

We find those arguments weak compared to the importance of allowing everyone to participate fully in determining who represents them.

We should be clear that County Commissioner Phil Chang, a Democrat, is a backer and supporter of this ballot measure. We did talk to him about it. We don’t think this measure will necessarily be a personal boon for him or for Central Oregon Democrats.

So yes, we hope you vote for this ballot measure. But, of course, make up your own mind. You can read more about the ballot measure here, tinyurl.com/Deschutesnonpartisan.