Both the House and Senate chambers unanimously approved a bill to bring efficiencies to the precinct committeeperson (PCP) election process. The bill will result in savings for county elections offices.
House Bill 2491A was the result of collaborative work between Oregon Association of County Clerks and Democrat and Republican parties to identify efficiency and transparency opportunities in local election offices.
The bill creates a process for a person to declare write-in candidacy or nominate a person as a write in candidate for PCP, requiring the declaration or nomination by 8 p.m. on the date of the primary election. It also modifies the timeline for candidate declarations to at least 70 days prior to the primary election and requires the candidate to be registered with their respective party 180 days prior to the election. HB 2491A also expands opportunities for PCPs to serve in any precinct that is in both the same county and state Representative district a PCP is registered in, and makes several other minor modifications in order to open up the PCP process.
Representative Paul Holvey, bill sponsor said of the bill in his floor speech, “it establishes a more efficient process and should help save our county election offices some money in electing precinct committee persons.”
Senator Brian Boquist, bill sponsor and carrier in the Senate commented on the collaborative nature of the work on the bill in his floor speech, “Representative Holvey and I have been working for the last two sessions to streamline the actual elections process inside the clerks’ office. We’ve been working with the full support of the county clerks, the Republican and the Democratic party.”Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) Legal Counsel Rob Bovett worked closely with stakeholders to help get this bill across the finish line. The bill will soon make its way to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law.
Contributed by: Megan Chuinard | Public Affairs Associate