Dear friends and fellow Oregonians

I hope this finds you well – and that you’d be willing to take just 93 seconds – and then, perhaps another 5 minutes – to help change Oregon politics and history for the better, for decades to come.

The cause is the “Oregon Open Primary” ballot measure, which is currently working to gather 82,579 valid signatures to be on the 2008 ballot. You can find lots of information about how it works at www.oneballot.com – but its essence is very simple. No more closed, “party members” only primary elections – like the one we’re having on May 20 -- where registered Ds and Rs have restricted choices, and the state’s nearly 500,000 independent voters are completely shut out.

Instead, every voter in May would get the same ballot, listing every candidate – and we could vote for whoever we wanted to, regardless of party. The top two would then go to the finals in November – again, regardless.

How can you help? Two things. First, take those 93 seconds, and simply go to www.oneballot.com/petition ; then “Download Petition.” Print the special “E-signature” petition out, sign it, and stick it in the mail. (This is the first time this innovation has been allowed – and it’s really great. They’ll even pay the postage!).

Second, do what I’ve done – think of about 50 (or more) of your own friends, colleagues, and fellow citizens – and then cut, paste, and send this EXACT SAME e-mail to them, urging them to literally do the same two things.

This can get very viral, very quickly – and that’s exactly the point.

If each of us took just a few minutes, using the internet for the first time in Oregon history to – well, change Oregon history -- we could ensure the success of this historic reform. We could do our part to encourage better candidates to seek office, and create a political environment where elected officials of all stripes would be far better able to constructively discuss – not to mention, do something about – the major issues facing Oregon, rather than resort to hyper-partisanship and unproductive bickering.

The campaign’s last poll, done in December 2007, showed 66-20% support for this idea. Every corner of Oregon , and every major demographic group – including registered Republicans (62%), Democrats (68%) and “other” (72%) supported this change. Those of us who support this effort think the reason is simple: the Open Primary treats every Oregon voter, equally – and puts them in charge of our election system, not the political parties.

Even if you’re not 100% sure about the Open Primary right now, and want to learn more, please help, anyway. That’s because the effort right now is to simply get this proposal on the ballot, so Oregonians can fully debate and consider it in the November 2008 election.

Thanks for your consideration. And if you’d be so kind as to blind copy info@oneballot.com when you send your e-mail, that would be appreciated, too. They’d like to thank you directly for your help!