In Oregon, Working Families Party Appeals to Rural Populists, Reagan Democrats

[Omaha Steve]

http://labornotes.org/2010/11/oregon-working-families-party-appeals-rural-populists-reagan-democrats

Barbara Dudley | November 23, 2010


Phonebanking volunteers for the Working Families Party in Oregon helped it make inroads in “red” counties. Photo: Emily Saxton


In Oregon, unions and community organizations are challenging the two-party system and testing the limits of what they can do together to promote their agenda in elections without being marginalized as “spoilers.”

In November 2005 representatives from 13 local unions and eight community organizations met to begin working toward a Working Families Party in Oregon. We collected about 28,000 signatures in 30 counties and in June 2006 were certified as a minor party.

The real strength of the Working Families Party comes with “fusion” voting, which allows minor parties to nominate any qualified candidates who support our platform, even if they have been nominated by another party as well. The WFP does not want to be charged with taking away enough votes from a less-bad candidate to throw the race to an even worse one.

We introduced bills in 2007 and 2008 to legalize fusion voting, but were stalled in both legislative sessions because of overt opposition from the county clerks, who have routinely opposed election reforms on procedural grounds, and covert opposition from leaders of the Democratic Party, who don’t want competition.

We finally succeeded in 2009 with a compromise bill to create “aggregated” rather than full fusion. Full fusion, which exists in New York, Connecticut, and a few other states, provides for cross-nominated candidates to appear on separate ballot lines for each party’s nomination.

FULL story at link.

[Laelth]

1. Interesting and important. Thanks for posting. k&r n/t

-Laelth

[SocialistLez]

2. I saw the website of the Working Families Party some time ago. I loved it. NT

[freshwest]

3. Good to see this