Bill would raise Oregon major‑party threshold from 5% to 10% as Independent Party grows

Summary

Supporters of House Bill 3908 from the Independent Party of Oregon told the House Rules Committee the change would give the party more time to adapt to major‑party rules; county clerks warned adding a major party can create extra counting work and administrative costs. The Secretary of State said it will convene an interim work group.

Chair Bowman opened a public hearing March 31 before the House Committee on Rules on House Bill 3908, which would raise Oregon's threshold for being designated a major political party from 5 percent to 10 percent of registered voters.

The proposal was presented by Sal Peralta, secretary of the Independent Party of Oregon, and Dan Meek, a party member who does legal work for the party. "This is probably the shortest bill you'll ever encounter as a legislator," Peralta told the committee, summarizing that the bill "raises the threshold for major party status from 5% to 10% of registered voters." Meek described operational problems the Independent Party faces under current law and said the party is on the verge of being treated as a major party under the existing 5 percent rule.

The Independent Party leaders told the committee that, as of March 2025, the party had about 153,000…

Bill would raise Oregon major‑party threshold from 5% to 10% as Independent Party grows

Summary

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