Senate Rules hears bill to require pledge and tighten rules for presidential electors

The Senate Committee on Rules on Feb. 9 opened a public hearing on Senate Bill 1509, a measure that would require Oregon's presidential electors to sign a pledge to vote as directed and would clarify procedures for filling vacancies and issuing amended certificates of ascertainment.

Supporters, including Common Cause and Protect Democracy United, told the committee the bill and its sponsor's -1 amendment are designed to prevent "faithless electors," protect volunteers from pressure, and correct ambiguous wording in the bill that could conflict with Oregon's participation in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. "Common Cause supports this nonpartisan election security bill to ensure our election process operates according to law," Kate Titus said in testimony on behalf of Common Cause.

David Weinberg, policy strategist for Protect Democracy United, focused on the sponsor's amendment and described five principal changes. He said the amendment fixes a drafting problem in subsection 2(c) so that electors nominated by a nonparty presidential ticket must be registered as not affiliated with any political party; replaces ambiguous uses of the word "winning" to avoid conflict with interstate-compact language; adds "if any" where needed so nonparty tickets remain subject to the same standards as party tickets; avoids creating a duplicate mechanism for filling vacancies by deferring to existing state law; and requires timely issuance and transmission of amended certificates to the federal government. Weinberg noted the amendment builds on the Uniform Law Commission's 2010 model and that his materials show 24 states have laws along these lines.

Carol Moreno, senior policy analyst in the Secretary of State's office, said the office supports the bill and the amendment, noting Oregon currently lacks an enforcement mechanism for electors who do not follow a pledge. "Senate Bill 1509 not only provides clarity to the vacancy process for electors, but it also ensures all of Oregon's electoral votes are cast as directed by the statewide popular vote," Moreno said, adding that the change would help preserve public confidence and ensure required paperwork reaches federal authorities on time.

The League of Women Voters of Oregon also supported the amendment. "The League of Women Voters of Oregon urges your support for SB 1509-1," Chris Coby testified, saying the proposal had broad public support in written testimony and aligned with endorsements from nonpartisan legal bodies.

Opponents included Thomas Bossem, an executive board member of the Libertarian Party of Oregon, who argued the bill addresses a "non-problem" and that allowing faithless electors can serve as a constitutional safeguard in rare circumstances. Bossem also raised allegations about associations of a witness with outside organizations during his remarks. The committee record shows no formal response to those allegations during the hearing.

The committee did not take a final vote at the hearing. Weinberg told the committee a work session on the bill was scheduled for the coming Wednesday. Chair remarks at the close thanked witnesses and staff and the committee closed the public hearing and concluded business for the day.

Next steps: the committee has a work session scheduled later this week to consider the bill and the posted sponsor's amendment.