An election law complaint, filed against one of the most dark-money heavy political spending organizations in Oregon, may have exposed crimintal activity by the organization. The Secretary of State's office, which received the complaint on May 13 has turned the complaint over to the Justice Department, citing possible criminal activity in the complaint.

Our Oregon, an organization which has a 501(c)(4) status as a non-profit, is not registered as an Oregon Poltical Action Committee by the Secretary of State.

The complaint, filed on May 13 by the Freedom Foundation, alleges that, “During calendar year 2020 and for many years prior, Our Oregon has operated as a political committee without filing a statement of organization with the Secretary of State as required by ORS 260.035.”

The claims in question are whether or not Our Oregon made campaign contributions in a false name, which is a class C felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and/or a $125,000 fine.

The organization's website makes the claim that it “led the unprecedented coalition that helped pass Measures 66 & 67”, two tax increase ballot measures passed by the voters in 2010. This kind of advocacy would seem to clearly be explicit political activity.

This is not the first time Our Oregon has run afoul of the law. In November 2018, Defend Oregon, a political committee operated by Our Oregon, was cited for failing to turn in 96 valid ballots by election day. The Secretary of State's office even referred to this violation as “more severe than any other violation of election law.” Defend Oregon is still under the terms of a penalty agreement with the Elections Division.

The Justice Department investigation will be handled by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (D-Portland) who is up for re-election in November.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-06-15 13:00:05

Last Update: 2020-06-15 14:55:05