Memo to the Clackamas

and Multnomahcounty Democrats

The appointment process for filling the vacancy in House District 38

By Wayne Kinney

Chair, DPO Rules Committee

(541) 977-5050

Jan. 3, 2014

This memo serves as the rule for the convention.

In a nutshell

A convention made up of precinct committee persons representing the precincts in District 38 will meet and nominate three, four or five candidates. At least three nominees must fit the legal requirements for serving as a state representativeand be willing to hold the office. This must be done by the 20th day following the effective date of the resignation.

County commissioners representing the counties within the district must meet and select one of the nominees by the 30th day following the resignation.

NOTE: The convention will be held Jan. 15, 2014 at 7 p.m. at the Oswego Heritage House, 398 10th St., Lake Oswego. Registration will start at 6 p.m.

The number of Democrats in the district, as of just before Christmas, is 21,556. Multnomah County’s share of the district is 11,264, and Clackamas County’s share is 10,292.

Candidates must file the SEL 145 form with the DPO by Jan. 14, 2014, at 5 p.m.

Notices to the PCPs eligible to participate in the convention must be sent by Jan. 9, 2014.

Each county handles notices to their PCPs, and handles credentials for their own PCPs at the convention.

Step by step

Before the convention

1. When the Sec. of State’s office receives a resignation letter from Rep. Garrett, it will send notification to the DPO and to the Clackamas and Multnomah Democratic parties.

2. Clackamas Democratic Chair Larry Skidmore has been chosen to be chair of the District 38 convention.

3. The District 38 convention must select nominees and notify the Sec. of State by the 20th day after the effective date of the resignation.

4. People who wish to be considered for state representative must file form SEL145 with the Democratic Party of Oregon at least 24 hours before the convention starts. The deadline will be set by the DPO. Forms may be sent by mail (232 NE 9th, Portland 97232), or by fax (503 224-5335). If the form does not reach the DPO office in time, that person’s candidacy cannot be considered. The DPO will then forward those forms to the Washington County Democrats.

a. Prospective candidates must meet the minimum requirements to hold the office. Those include being a registered Democrat for at least 180 days before the effective date of the resignation, living in the district for at least one year, and not being under the control of the Dept. of Corrections.

5. Precinct committee persons representing the precincts within District 38 are entitled to vote. The law and party rules do not make a distinction between elected and appointed precinct committee persons, nor do they make a distinction between precinct committee persons who live in their own precinct or who represent an adjoining precinct.

6. There must be six days written notice to the precinct committee persons entitled to vote at the convention. Because this is a public process, that notice should also be sent to all media outlets and other parties that might have an interest.

7. The convention must be held, and its work completed, by 20 days after the resignation.

8. The DPO will notify Washington and Multnomah counties of the numbers of registered Democrats in each county’s portion of the district.

9. The DPO will prepare ballots with the names of the candidates. Because several ballots may be cast, several copies of the ballot should be made. Each set of ballots should be distinguished by different colors or numbers.

At the convention

10. A credentials committee should begin registering precinct committee persons an hour before the convention begins. Precinct committee persons should be badged, and will be seated with other PCPs from their county. Ballots may be handed out to PCPs as they register, or may be handed out at the beginning of each round.

11. The chair should announce the total number of precinct committee persons present, and announce the number of votes each PCP may cast.The chair should also announce the number of votes each candidate needs to be nominated. That number will be a majority of the registered Democrats in the district.

a. In a multi-county legislative district, precinct committee persons in each county will castvotes equaling the total number of Democrats in their county. If there are 10,000 registered Democrats in a county, and 20precinct committee persons are attending the convention, each PCP will cast 500 votes. If that formula results in a fraction (i.e., 10,100 Democrats divided by 19Precinct committee persons, which comes to 531.58) that fraction will be disregarded, and each PCP will cast 531 votes.

b. If no precinct committee persons from a county attend the convention, then no votes will be cast for Democrats in that county.

12. The chair does the following:

a. Appoint a parliamentarian and a time keeper.

b. Have a representative of the DPO explain the convention rules.

c. Allow the convention to decide whether to nominate three, four or five people.

d. Announce time limits for candidate speeches.

1. There are no nominating or seconding speeches.

2. Speeches should be two to three minutes.

e. Appoint tellers to count the votes.

1. Count the votes in a place separate from the convention, and make sure there are enough tellers to count votes accurately and quickly.

f. Announce other ground rules as appropriate.

g. Publically ask each candidate if they are willing to serve.

h. Determine the order of candidate speeches by lot, and let the speeches begin.

i. Review the election process with the Precinct committee persons.

j. Take a short break, and get ready to start the voting.

13. Voting procedures

a. Majorities are required to elect nominees.

1. Balloting will be done by rounds. Once a candidate is nominated, then rounds for the second, third, and possibly fourth and fifth nominees will be held.

b. Precinct committee persons may cast all their votes for one candidate, or spread them out among several.

1. If a PCP casts more votes than entitled, that ballot willbe thrown out.

c. Candidates may appoint people to view the counting, but may not interfere with the process. If they have problems, they should go to the chair or the DPO representative.

d. The chair should announce the results of each ballot.

e. If a candidate wins a majority of the votes, then that person is declared nominated, and voting will continue in further rounds until the agreed upon number of nominees is reached.

f. If no majority is reached on a ballot, then the candidate receiving the fewest votes will be stricken from the ballot.

1. Candidates will also be stricken from that round of balloting if they receive less than 10 percent of the vote.

g. As candidates are stricken from the ballot, the chair will instruct precinct committee persons to cross those candidate’s names off the ballot.

h. Being stricken from a ballot will not eliminate candidates from being considered in later rounds.

1. For example, a candidate who was stricken from the ballot in the first round will still be eligible to run in the second round.

14. If there are only three, four, or five candidates who are seeking the appointment, the convention may choose, by a single majority vote, to send all of those names to the county commissioners. The convention may also choose to have a vote to rank the candidates. In that case, each PCP would cast the number of votes allotted to them within their county’s portion of the district, and may cast all their votes for one candidate, or spread them out among several.

15. Once the voting is finished, and the list of nominees completed and announced, the convention is adjourned.

After the convention

16. The DPO will send the SEL145 forms of the nominees to the Sec. of State’s office. Those forms must get to the Sec. of State’s office by the 20th day after the resignation.

17. The Sec. of State will then set a date for a meeting of the county commissioners of Washington and Multnomah counties.

18. There must be at least three nominees who are able and willing to serve. If there are fewer than three, the county commissioners may pick someone who has not been nominated.

19. Commissioners will have a weighted vote, depending on the numbers of registered voters in their county’s portion of the district. The minimum vote each commissioner will have is one.

20. Commissioners mustselect a state representative by the 30th day of the effective date of the resignation. If they miss the deadline, the Governor will choose the state representative.

Materials

ORS 171.051 and 171.060

DPO Bylaws, Article 11

DPO Standing Rule, No. 2

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