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Senate Bill 1014 would let political parties submit translated party statements to state voters pamphlet
Summary
Senate Bill 1014 would let political parties submit translated versions of their party statements to appear in the state voters' pamphlet in any of the five most commonly spoken non‑English languages, with implementation targeted to pamphlets distributed on or after Jan. 31, 2026.
Senate Bill 1014, discussed March 31 before the Senate Committee on Rules, would require the Secretary of State to allow political party statements to be translated into any of the five most commonly spoken non-English languages in Oregon as listed by the Secretary of State. The bill’s summary presented to the committee sets an applicability date for translated state voters' pamphlets distributed on or after Jan. 31, 2026.
Proponents from multiple organizations testified in favor. Candy Emmons, deputy director of the Democratic Party of Oregon, told the committee parties were “thrilled” at prior expansion of pamphlet translation and urged the committee to permit parties the option to provide translated statements. Lamar Wise of Oregon AFSCME and Jessica Madavia of ACELE of Oregon (a civil-rights organization) supported the measure as increasing accessibility and civic participation for voters who prefer languages other than English. Rebecca Gladstone of the League of Women Voters of Oregon supported the concept but asked for clearer statutory language about the Secretary of State’s role and the bill’s prescription that the Secretary “must include” translations while also “allowing” them to be included.
A committee question clarified cost responsibility: witnesses said translations of party statements would be at the parties’ expense and not mandated. No committee vote or amendment was recorded during the public hearing.
Ending: The bill advanced to a public hearing and closed testimony the same day; committee members raised drafting clarity and statutory language that the League asked the drafters to clarify in later work.
