Current News

Former State Sen. Betsy Johnson is running for governor and Aumsville Mayor Derek Clevenger is running for state representative without a party.

At unpublicized meetings in May, June and July, members of the party’s steering committee nominated candidates for Congress, governor and the Legislature

Betsy Johnson paid a Washington-based signature gathering firm more than $200,000 to collect signatures for her campaign.

Betsy Johnson, the unaffiliated candidate for Oregon governor, spent two decades as a Democrat in the Legislature and even longer as a powerful presence in local politics.

Third parties have long struggled to break through a political system that is explicitly designed to benefit the Republican and Democratic Parties. However, the Forward Party is taking an unprecedented approach to tear down the duopoly’s barriers.

For Republican-backed legislation that would raise the barriers of entry for third parties in Montana’s elections, the third time was a charm on Thursday.

Oregon is one of nine states in the U.S. with completely closed primaries. A proposed measure would open primaries to 1 million non-affiliated voters.

The ballot measure process has been critical to the success of nonpartisan reforms across the country. However, according to new research by RepresentUs, 11 states have proposed over 60 laws to make i

The rising cost of paying people to gather signatures is a challenge.

Are legislatures rejecting the “will of the people” or fixing their unworkable laws?

The 2024 campaign has begun for a constitutional amendment that would change the state’s primary election of 2026.

The rise in homelessness in the United States, especially since the housing crisis of 2008, is one of the most frustrating issues I have ever had to work on as a policymaker. In ...

The latest scheme to launch a centrist, third-party “unity” ticket comes from a dark money front for corporate interests.

The proposal is among seven changes to the county charter that the volunteer charter review commission will put before voters this fall.

The Portland Charter Commission aims to bring city in line with how other major U.S. cities do local governance.

Multnomah Circuit Court Judge Stephen Bushong disclosed the self-imposed deadline Thursday during a hearing on a lawsuit filed by the Portland Business Alliance.

The leader who brought the suit, James Posey, failed to notify the city’s elections officer in writing that he’d filed a court petition seeking the rewording, as required by law.

With three serious gubernatorial candidates on the ballot in November and the theoretical possibility of a new governor elected with 34% of the vote, Oregon might consider an election tool that recently got a lot of attention in Alaska and seems ripe for consideration here: ranked choice voting.  The probability – at least, if polling […]

Ranked-choice voting brings numerous benefits and one downside: It requires voters to spend more time with the ballot. Vote by mail gives them that time.

It’s been nearly five months since Portland voters approved substantial changes to the city’s government. With a long list of critical tasks to complete by next fall, it begs the question: Can they get it all accomplished in time? Here's what's happened so far.

The GOP is almost certain to eat into Democratic supermajorities this year. The question is by how much.

If the two parties go off to the edges, there’ll be a ticket running up the center.

Nonaffiliated voters in Oregon comprise the biggest voting bloc but that doesn't mean that they are nonpartisan.

Betsy Johnson, a pro-gun, woke-bashing former Democrat is waging a strong bid for governor.

Evidence that Independent Party of Oregon Director Sal Peralta is loyal to the agenda of Oregon Democrats and that his 'political party' is just a front for Democrats.