Published by Willamette Week
Feb 20, 2008

If Phil Keisling had gotten his way two years ago, more than one in five registered voters wouldn’t be denied a say in Oregon’s May presidential primary.

But Keisling, Oregon’s former secretary of state, didn’t.

And that means an estimated 431,986 Oregonians —or 22 percent of registered voters—won’t get to vote in a primary that this year actually may mean something, at least on the Democratic side between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Published by the West-Linn Tidings
April 10, 2008

As evidenced by the enthusiastic crowds that greeted Hillary Clinton last weekend in Hillsboro and Eugne, Oregon’s electorate – at least the portion made up of registered Democrats – is thrilled to have a meaningful choice in the presidential primaries this year.

And that’s indisputably a good thing.

Published by the Corvallis Gazette-Times
April 10, 2008

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month gave our neighbors in Washington the right to vote for any candidate — regardless of party affiliation — on their primary ballot.

Voters here in Oregon won’t have the same freedom when we cast our ballots in the May 20 primary. Instead, in partisan races appearing on the primary ballot, we’re allowed to vote only for candidates who are members of the same political party to which we belong. That means that registered Republicans can vote only for Republicans, registered Democrats can vote only for Democrats and the growing number of unaffiliated voters can vote for … well ... nobody.