Due to a failure to provide adequate notice to its members of its nominating convention, the Oregon Secretary of State has rejected all nominees from the Constitution Party of Oregon. The move was based on a complaint filed June 10. The party expects to hold a new nominating convention on August 21st -- just 79 days before the general election will be held.

In a letter to the Constitution Party of Oregon Chair Jack Brown, Jr., Elections Program Manager Alma Whalen at the office of the Oregon Secretary of State describes the violations of Oregon election law:

ORS 248.009 requires a party to provide all registered party members within the electoral district an equal opportunity to make nominations or to select delegates who will make nominations. Further, the statute requires the party to provide specific notice of the place of the convention, the time of the convention, and the office(s) for which nominations will be made. This requirement makes clear that the intent of the statute is to provide notice specific to each nominating convention, and in a time frame within reasonable proximity to the election to allow all party members to participate meaningfully.

In this matter, the Party provided two kinds of notices: notice of the Steering Committee meetings at which the candidates received the Party’s nomination, and notice (in 2020) that the membership could elect precinct committeepeople. Both notices were insufficient to meet the requirements of ORS 248.009.

The Constitution Party of Oregon has been racked by factional fights. Party registration in Oregon is 3,842 as of August 2022, according to the Secretary of State's website.

Whalen concluded, "Because the Party did not comply with ORS 248.009(1) and (3) in any of its nominations this year, the Division is rejecting the candidate filings (SEL 110s) for all candidates nominated by the Constitution Party of Oregon for the 2022 general election."


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2022-08-12 09:30:46

Last Update: 2022-08-12 10:16:29