ORS Chapter 248
Chapter 248 — PoliticalParties; Presidential Electors
2009 EDITION
POLITICALPARTIES; PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS
ELECTIONS
GENERALPROVISIONS
248.002 Definitions
248.004 Powersof political parties; liability of political parties and of officers, employeesand members of political parties
248.005 Partiesto insure widest and fairest representation of members
248.006 Qualificationand maintenance of status as major political party; loss of status as majorpolitical party; calculation of number of party members
248.007 Organizationof major political parties; applicability of ORS 248.012 to 248.315; electionof precinct committeepersons; notice to Secretary of State; use of primaryelection
248.008 Qualificationas minor political party; party member registration requirement; eligibility tonominate candidates; maintenance of status as minor political party; loss ofstatus as minor party
248.009 Processfor nominating candidates by minor political party; notice to filing officer;notice of nominating convention
248.010 Useof party name
248.011 Enforcementof ORS 248.005 or political party rules
248.012 Noticeof committee meetings required
PRECINCTCOMMITTEEPERSONS
248.015 Precinctcommitteepersons; qualifications; election; vote required; term
248.017 Candidacyfor office of precinct committeeperson by person who attains age of 18 yearsafter deadline for filing declaration of candidacy
248.023 Certificatesof election; acceptance of office; list of precinct committeepersons; officesdeclared vacant when no committeeperson elected
248.024 Resignationor ineligibility of precinct committeeperson
248.026 Selectionof precinct committeeperson to fill vacancy; effective date of selection; term;powers
248.027 Committeepersonto continue on central committee despite change in precinct
248.029 Recallprocedure
COUNTYCENTRAL COMMITTEE
248.031 Precinctcommitteepersons as county central committee; status and functions of committee
248.033 Organizationalmeeting; notice
248.035 Transferof property; election of officers; notice of election; eligibility to vote
248.043 Procedureif meeting not called; filling vacancies when no precinct committeepersonelected; term of appointee; notice to county clerk
248.045 Proxiesprohibited; bylaws or rules; executive committee functions; voting privileges
STATECENTRAL COMMITTEE
248.072 Authorityof state central committee
248.075 Statecentral committee; organizational meeting; notice
248.085 Transferof property; election of officers; bylaws or rules; executive committeefunctions
DELEGATESTO NATIONAL CONVENTIONS
248.315 Selectionof delegates to national convention
PRESIDENTIALELECTORS
248.355 Selectionof presidential electors; candidate’s pledge
248.360 Electiontime and number of presidential electors to be elected; names of presidentialelectors not printed on ballot
248.370 Conveningof electors; vacancies; duties
248.380 Electors’mileage expenses
GENERALPROVISIONS
248.002Definitions.As used in this chapter:
(1)“Committee office” means chairperson, vice chairperson or other office thecounty or state central committee of a political party creates to govern thebusiness of the committee.
(2)“County clerk” means the county clerk or the county official in charge ofelections.
(3)“Elector” means an individual qualified to vote under section 2, Article II,Oregon Constitution.
(4)“Member” means an individual who is registered as being affiliated with thepolitical party. [1979 c.190 §67]
248.004Powers of political parties; liability of political parties and of officers,employees and members of political parties. (1) A minor political party or amajor political party shall have all the powers granted to a nonprofitcorporation under ORS 65.077.
(2)A major or minor political party shall be treated for purposes of contractual,tort or other liability as a nonprofit corporation.
(3)Officers and employees of a major or minor political party, including officersand employees of local subdivisions of the parties, shall be treated as officersand employees of nonprofit corporations for liability for all matters relatingto the political party.
(4)Any member of a governing body of a major or minor political party, includinglocal subdivisions of the parties, shall be treated as directors of nonprofitcorporations for liability for all matters relating to the political party. Ifthe bylaws of a party designate a central committee, such as a state, county orcongressional district central committee, as the governing body of the party,then the members of the central committee shall be directors of the party forpurposes of this section.
(5)Notwithstanding ORS 65.157, creditors of a major or minor political party maynot proceed against members of the political parties for liabilities membersowe to the parties arising from their party membership.
(6)This section does not affect the liability of political committee directors,treasurers and candidates as provided in ORS chapter 260. [1993 c.797 §5]
248.005Parties to insure widest and fairest representation of members. Each politicalparty by rule shall insure the widest and fairest representation of partymembers in the party organization and activities. Rules shall be adopted byprocedures that assure the fair and open participation of all interested partymembers. [1975 c.779 §1; 1979 c.190 §68]
248.006Qualification and maintenance of status as major political party; loss ofstatus as major political party; calculation of number of party members. (1) Anaffiliation of electors becomes a major political party in this state and isqualified to make nominations at a primary election when a number of electorsequal to at least five percent of the number of electors registered in thisstate are registered as members of the party not later than the 275th daybefore the date of a primary election. An affiliation of electors satisfyingthe requirements of this subsection shall be subject to the provisions of ORS248.007 on the date the Secretary of State determines the registration requirementsare satisfied.
(2)The number of electors described in subsection (1) of this section shall becalculated based on the number of electors registered in this state andeligible to vote, as reported on the official abstracts of the election, at thegeneral election immediately preceding the deadline specified in subsection (1)of this section.
(3)After an affiliation of electors becomes a major political party undersubsection (1) of this section, in order to maintain status as a majorpolitical party subject to ORS 248.007, the party must satisfy the registrationrequirement of subsection (1) of this section not later than the 275th daybefore each primary election.
(4)An affiliation of electors ceases to be a major political party if theregistration requirements of subsection (1) of this section are not satisfiedby the 275th day before each primary election. The affiliation of electorsceases to be a major political party on the date the Secretary of Statedetermines that the registration requirement is not satisfied.
(5)When an affiliation of electors has not satisfied the registration requirementof subsection (1) of this section for the first time, at the request of arepresentative of the affiliation of electors, the Secretary of State shall determinenot less than once each month whether at least five percent of the number ofeligible electors registered in this state are registered as members of theparty. After an affiliation of electors has qualified as a major politicalparty, the Secretary of State shall determine on the 274th day before eachprimary election whether the major political party has satisfied theregistration requirements described in subsection (3) of this section. [1979c.190 §69; 1993 c.797 §1; 1995 c.712 §14; 2001 c.721 §1]
248.007Organization of major political parties; applicability of ORS 248.012 to248.315; election of precinct committeepersons; notice to Secretary of State;use of primary election. (1) Subject to ORS 248.005, a major political partymay organize and select delegates to national party conventions in any manner.
(2)The provisions of ORS 248.012 to 248.315 do not apply to a major politicalparty if the party has notified the Secretary of State as provided insubsection (5) of this section that the party does not intend to be subject tothe provisions of ORS 248.012 to 248.315. References to precinctcommitteepersons in any provisions of ORS chapters 246 to 260 do not apply to aparty described in this subsection.
(3)ORS 248.012 to 248.315 apply only to a major political party that has notifiedthe Secretary of State as provided in subsection (5) of this section that thepolitical party intends to be subject to the provisions of ORS 248.012 to248.315. References to precinct committeepersons in any provisions of ORSchapters 246 to 260 shall apply to a party described in this subsection. If amajor political party fails to notify the Secretary of State under thissubsection, the party shall be considered subject to the provisions of ORS248.012 to 248.315.
(4)A major political party shall notify the Secretary of State as provided insubsection (5) of this section if the party does not intend to be subject tothe provisions of ORS 248.012 to 248.315 except that the party intends to electprecinct committeepersons. If a party notifies the Secretary of State underthis subsection, the party shall elect precinct committeepersons only asprovided in ORS 248.015 and shall elect precinct committeepersons in the samemanner in all precincts in this state.
(5)Not later than the 274th day before the date of the primary election, a majorpolitical party shall notify the Secretary of State in writing whether or notthe party intends to be subject to the provisions of ORS 248.012 to 248.315 orwhether the party intends to elect precinct committeepersons under subsection(4) of this section. If the major political party does not intend to be subjectto the provisions of ORS 248.012 to 248.315 or intends to elect precinctcommitteepersons under subsection (4) of this section, the party shall filewith the Secretary of State, at the same time notice is given under thissubsection, a copy of its organizational documents setting forth the manner inwhich its officers and managing committees are selected or any other manner inwhich it conducts its affairs.
(6)In each even-numbered year, a major political party shall file with theSecretary of State a statement indicating that the party is operating subjectto ORS 248.012 to 248.315 or a copy of current organizational documents settingforth the manner in which its officers and managing committees are selected orany other manner in which it conducts its affairs. Material described in thissubsection shall be filed on the 274th day before the third Tuesday in May ofeach odd-numbered year.
(7)A major political party subject to the provisions of this section shallnominate candidates of the major political party, for other than politicalparty office, at the primary election. [1993 c.797 §3; 1995 c.712 §15]
248.008Qualification as minor political party; party member registration requirement;eligibility to nominate candidates; maintenance of status as minor politicalparty; loss of status as minor party. (1) An affiliation of electors becomesa minor political party in the state, a county or other electoral district,qualified to make nominations for public office in that electoral district andin any other electoral district wholly contained within the electoral district,when either of the following events occurs:
(a)When the affiliation of electors has filed with the Secretary of State apetition with the signatures of at least a number of electors equal to one andone-half percent of the total votes cast in the electoral district for allcandidates for Governor at the most recent election at which a candidate forGovernor was elected to a full term. The petition also must state the intentionto form a new political party and give the designation of it. The petition mustcontain only original signatures and must be filed not later than two yearsfollowing the date the prospective petition is filed. The circulator shallcertify on each signature sheet that the circulator witnessed the signing ofthe signature sheet by each individual whose signature appears on the signaturesheet and that the circulator believes each individual is an elector registeredin the electoral district. The Secretary of State shall verify whether thepetition contains the required number of signatures of electors. The Secretaryof State may not accept a petition for filing if it contains less than 100percent of the required number of signatures. The Secretary of State by ruleshall designate a statistical sampling technique to verify whether a petitioncontains the required number of signatures of electors. A petition may not berejected for the reason that it contains less than the required number ofsignatures unless two separate sampling processes both establish that thepetition lacks the required number of signatures. The second sampling mustcontain a larger number of signatures than the first sampling. The Secretary ofState may employ professional assistance to determine the sampling technique.The statistical sampling technique may be the same as that adopted under ORS250.105. Before circulating the petition, the chief sponsor of the petitionmust file with the Secretary of State a signed copy of the prospectivepetition. The chief sponsor must include with the prospective petition astatement declaring whether one or more persons will be paid money or othervaluable consideration for obtaining signatures of electors on the petition.After the prospective petition is filed, the chief sponsor must notify thefiling officer not later than the 10th day after the chief sponsor first hasknowledge or should have had knowledge that:
(A)Any person is being paid for obtaining signatures, when the statement includedwith the prospective petition declared that no such person would be paid.
(B)No person is being paid for obtaining signatures, when the statement includedwith the prospective petition declared that one or more such persons would bepaid.
(b)When the affiliation of electors has polled for any one of its candidates forany public office in the electoral district at least one percent of the totalvotes cast in the electoral district for all candidates for:
(A)Presidential elector at the last general election at which candidates forPresident and Vice President of the United States were listed on the ballot; or
(B)Any single state office to be voted upon in the state at large for whichnominations by political parties are permitted by law at the most recentelection at which a candidate for the office was elected to a full term.
(2)After satisfying either requirement of subsection (1) of this section, theminor political party may nominate candidates for election at the next generalelection.
(3)A filing officer may not accept a certificate of nomination of a candidatenominated by a minor political party for a subsequent general election unlessthe minor political party has satisfied the requirements of subsection (4)(a)or (b) of this section.
(4)After a minor political party qualifies to nominate candidates for a generalelection under subsection (1) of this section, in order to maintain status as aminor political party for a subsequent general election:
(a)(A)Following each general election, at any time during the period beginning on thedate of the next primary election and ending on the 90th day before the nextgeneral election, a number of electors equal to at least one-tenth of onepercent of the total votes cast in the state or electoral district for allcandidates for Governor at the most recent election at which a candidate forGovernor was elected to a full term must be registered as members of the party;and
(B)A candidate or candidates of the party must poll a number of votes described insubsection (1)(b) of this section at each subsequent general election; or
(b)Following each general election, at any time during the period beginning on thedate of the next primary election and ending on the 90th day before the nextgeneral election, a number of electors equal to at least one-half of onepercent of the total number of registered electors in this state must be registeredas members of the party.
(5)An affiliation of electors that fails to maintain its status as a minorpolitical party, as described in subsection (4) of this section, ceases to be aminor political party on the 90th day before the date of the next generalelection.
(6)During the period beginning on the date of the primary election and ending onthe 90th day before the date of the general election, the Secretary of Stateshall determine not less than once each month whether the registration requirementsof subsection (4) of this section have been satisfied. If the minor politicalparty changes its name, only those electors who register on or after theeffective date of the name change as members of the party under the new partyname shall be counted as members of the party under this subsection.
(7)An affiliation of electors or a minor political party may not satisfy the onepercent requirement referred to in subsection (1)(b) of this section bynominating a candidate who is the nominee of another political party at thesame election.
(8)For purposes of this section, “subsequent general election” means any generalelection that is held after the first general election following qualificationas a minor political party under subsection (1) of this section. [1979 c.190 §70;1983 c.756 §5; 1989 c.68 §1; 1989 c.923 §27; 1993 c.797 §§2,2a; 1995 c.606 §3;1995 c.712 §16; 1997 c.287 §1; 1999 c.318 §23; 2001 c.331 §1; 2001 c.721 §3;2007 c.848 §22; 2009 c.511 §4]
248.009Process for nominating candidates by minor political party; notice to filingofficer; notice of nominating convention. (1) A minor political partyshall file with the filing officer a copy of its organizational documentsestablishing its process for nominating candidates for public office. Theorganizational documents shall be filed not later than 30 days after they areadopted. The nominating process for candidates for election at the generalelection shall provide an equal opportunity to all registered members of theparty within the electoral district to participate in the process of makingnominations or selecting the delegates who will make the nominations. A minorpolitical party shall file copies of any changes to its organizationaldocuments relating to nomination of candidates for public office not later than30 days after the date any changes were made. The minor political party shallnominate candidates for public office only in accordance with the proceduresset forth in its organizational documents.
(2)A minor political party shall file with the filing officer a list of anyofficers selected by the party. The list shall be filed not later than 10 daysafter any selection is made. A minor political party shall file copies of anychanges to the list of officers not later than 10 days after the date anychanges were made.
(3)Not later than the 10th day before any nominating convention of a minorpolitical party, notice shall be published at least once in not fewer thanthree newspapers of general circulation within the electoral district for whichthe nomination will be made. If there are fewer than three newspapers ofgeneral circulation within the electoral district, notice shall be published atleast once in one newspaper of general circulation within the electoraldistrict for which the nomination will be made and other public notice shall begiven that is reasonably calculated to assure that party members in theelectoral district receive notice of the convention. The notice shall containthe time and place of the convention, and the office or offices for whichnominations will be made. [1993 c.797 §4; 1995 c.606 §4]
248.010Use of party name.Each major political party and minor political party, its nominated candidatesand its members and officers shall have the exclusive right to use the wholeparty name or any part of it. [Amended by 1957 c.608 §49; 1965 c.407 §1; 1975c.779 §4; 1979 c.190 §71; 1983 c.514 §5]
248.011Enforcement of ORS 248.005 or political party rules. Except asexpressly required by law, the Secretary of State, a county clerk or any otherelections official shall not enforce the provisions of ORS 248.005 or any otherrule adopted by a political party. [1995 c.606 §2]
248.012Notice of committee meetings required. The chairperson of a county central committeeor state central committee shall notify by mail the entire membership of thecommittee not later than the sixth day before the date of an anticipatedmeeting. Except for the notice of an organizational meeting of a county centralcommittee, failure to give timely notice of the time, date and place of ameeting shall invalidate the business of the meeting. [Formerly 248.100]
PRECINCTCOMMITTEEPERSONS
248.015Precinct committeepersons; qualifications; election; vote required; term. (1) A precinctcommitteeperson shall be a representative of the major political party in theprecinct. At the primary election a major political party shall elect from itsmembers a committeeperson of each sex for every 500 electors, or major fractionthereof, who are registered in the precinct on January 31 of the year of theprimary election. In any event the political party members of a precinct shallbe entitled to elect not less than one committeeperson of each sex in theprecinct. No person shall hold office as committeeperson in more than oneprecinct.
(2)A member of a major political party may become a candidate for precinctcommitteeperson of the precinct in which the person is registered, or of aprecinct within the same county adjoining that precinct, by filing adeclaration of candidacy described in ORS 249.031, except as provided insubsection (3) of this section.
(3)ORS 249.031 (1)(i) shall not apply to declarations of candidacy for candidatesfor precinct committeeperson.
(4)A member of the major political party who has been a member of that party for180 days before the primary election may be elected by write-in votes asprecinct committeeperson of the precinct in which the member is registered, orof a precinct within the same county adjoining that precinct.
(5)Unless a qualified person receives at least three votes, no person shall bedeemed to have been elected as precinct committeeperson and the office ofcommitteeperson shall be vacant.
(6)The term of office of a precinct committeeperson is from the 24th day after thedate of the primary election until the 24th day after the date of the nextfollowing primary election.
(7)A precinct committeeperson shall not be considered a public officer. [1965c.407 §§3, 7; subsection (6) enacted as 1967 c.540 §3 (3); 1969 c.282 §1; 1977c.199 §1; 1977 c.644 §1; 1979 c.190 §73; 1981 c.862 §1; 1991 c.87 §1; 1991c.107 §3; 1995 c.712 §17]
248.017Candidacy for office of precinct committeeperson by person who attains age of18 years after deadline for filing declaration of candidacy. Notwithstandingany provision of ORS 248.015, an otherwise qualified person who will attain theage of 18 years after the deadline for filing a declaration of candidacy forthe office of precinct committeeperson and on or before the date of the primaryelection, and who is registered as a member of the major political party notlater than the date of the primary election, is eligible to file a nominatingpetition for the office of precinct committeeperson, to be listed on the ballotand to be elected to the office, including by write-in votes. [1993 c.583 §2;1995 c.712 §18]
248.018 [1973 c.827 §24b;repealed by 1979 c.190 §431]
248.020 [Amended by1957 c.608 §50; repealed by 1965 c.407 §18]