Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Elections Transparency topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Panel hears bill to require counties, cities to post candidate filing forms online
Summary
A Senate Rules Committee hearing considered Senate Bill 580, which would require local governments to post candidate petitions and related filings on county or city websites within a short timeframe; supporters said it would increase transparency, while proponents of small jurisdictions urged flexibility and technical support.
Senate Rules Committee members on Wednesday heard testimony on Senate Bill 580, which would require nomination petitions, declarations of candidacy, certificates of nomination and other election-related filings to be posted on a county or city website shortly after they are filed.
The change is aimed at making candidate filings consistently accessible across jurisdictions so voters can see who has filed without having to file a public records request.
Nathan Soltz, chief of staff to Senator Frederick, told the committee the bill grew out of complaints the senator heard in conversations around the state. “Many jurisdictions post filings when received, but in others the filings are not posted and constituents must file records requests to know who has filed,” Soltz said. He said the bill is intended to create consistency, transparency and accessibility in local election information.
Soltz said the bill’s -1 amendment makes technical fixes and extends the maximum posting deadline to five business days, or shorter timelines tied to when a candidate is determined eligible. The amendment also excludes pages that contain signatures from the posting requirement and allows redaction of a candidate’s financial status before the documents are posted.
Darren Ash, a resident of La Pine who said he previously served on the La Pine Park and Recreation board, testified in support. “The important part to most of us is the candidate names on city or county websites so people can see who’s filed,” Ash said. He told the committee he often wanted to reach out to prospective candidates early and could not do so when local sites did not show filings.
Committee members asked whether the timelines in the bill were workable for smaller counties. Soltz said the -1 amendment was crafted after conversations with Multnomah County and others; it allows posting within one business day after a candidate is determined eligible or up to five business days in any case, which the proponents said was workable for clerks.
The public hearing was closed after testimony from Ash; no committee vote on the bill was recorded during the meeting.
The measure remains in committee for further drafting and possible amendment.
