Ballot access requirements for political parties in Oregon

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Note: This article is not intended to serve as a guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.

Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.

HIGHLIGHTS

As of May 2024, Oregon officially recognized nine political parties: the Constitution, Democratic, Independent, Libertarian, Pacific Green Party of Oregon, Progressive, Republican, Working Families, and the No Labels parties.

In some states, a candidate may choose to have a label other than that of an officially recognized party appear alongside his or her name on the ballot. Such labels are called political party designations. Oregon does not allow candidates to use political party designations.

To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in Oregon, see this article.

See state election laws

Process for a political party to obtain ballot status

See statutes: Chapter 248, Section 008 of the Oregon Revised Statutes

In order to qualify as a new minor party, a group of electors must file with the secretary of state a petition with signatures equaling at least 1.5% of the total votes cast for all candidates for governor at the most recent election at which a candidate for governor was elected to a full term.

The petition must state the intention to form a new party and provide a designation for the party. Before circulating, the petition's sponsor must file with the secretary of state a signed copy of the prospective petition. The completed petition must be filed no later than two years after the date the prospective petition is filed.

According to Oregon Revised Statutes Section 248.008, in order to maintain qualified minor party status, a party meet the following thresholds:

“

(a) Following each general election, at any time during the period beginning on the date of the next primary election and ending on the 90th day before the next general election, a number of electors equal to at least one-quarter of one percent of the total number of registered electors in this state must be registered as members of the party; or (b)(A) Following each general election, at any time during the period beginning on the date of the next primary election and ending on the 90th day before the next general election, a number of electors equal to at least one-tenth of one percent of the total votes cast in the state or electoral district for all candidates for Governor at the most recent election at which a candidate for Governor was elected to a full term must be registered as members of the party; and (B) At least once in a four-year period, a candidate or candidates of the party must poll at least one percent of the total votes cast in the electoral district for all candidates for: (i) Presidential elector at the last general election at which candidates for President and Vice President of the United States were listed on the ballot; or (ii) Any single state office to be voted upon in the state at large for which nominations by political parties are permitted by law at the most recent election at which a candidate for the office was elected to a full term.

”

A minor party is required to file a copy of its organizational documents with the filing officer (i.e., the secretary of state) no later than 30 days after they are adopted by the party. All minor parties select candidates for office by nominating convention. Only major parties as defined by the state may participate in primaries.

Political parties

See also: List of political parties in the United States

As of May 2024, there were nine recognized political parties in Oregon. These are listed in the table below.

Party	Website link	By-laws/platform link
Constitution Party of Oregon	Link	Party platform
Democratic Party of Oregon	Link	Party by-laws
Independent Party of Oregon	Link	Party party
Libertarian Party of Oregon	Link	Party by-laws
No Labels Party	Link	Party platform
Pacific Green Party of Oregon	Link	Party platform
Progressive Party of Oregon	Link	Party platform
Republican Party of Oregon	Link	Party by-laws
Working Families Party of Oregon	Link	Party platform

Historical events

2023

On March 10, 2023, Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan (D) announced that the No Labels party had submitted the signatures required for ballot qualification

2015

On August 17, 2015, Oregon Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins announced that the Independent Party had qualified for recognition as a major political party. As such, the party was authorized to participate in the 2016 primary election. In Oregon, a party is considered "major" if at least 5 percent of the number of voters registered in the state are registered as members of the party no later than the 275th day before the date of a primary election. As of August 16, 2015, the Independent Party had registered 109,363 voters, slightly above the required 108,739.

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See also

• Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Oregon
• Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Oregon
• List of political parties in the United States
• Democratic Party of Oregon
• Republican Party of Oregon

External links

• Oregon Democratic Party
• Oregon Republican Party

Footnotes

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