What’s in this guide?
This Easy-to-Read Voting Guide gives you information so that you can vote in the Primary Election on May 20, 2008. It also tells you how to register to vote. The information in the guide is neutral. It is not for or against any political party. This guide does not try to get you to vote one way or another. Instead, it gives you information so you can make up your own mind.

Why should I vote?
You can help make important decisions about how our state and our country are run by choosing the candidates you like best. Your vote is secret. Nobody will know how you voted.

What words are helpful for me to know?

Primary Election: An election held in May every other year. In a Primary election, voters choose from their own political party the person that they want to run in the General Election. For example, voters who are Republicans choose which Republican they want to run for Governor.

General Election: An election held in November in the same years as the Primary Elections. In the General Election in November, the winners of the Primary Election run against each other. Voters can choose a person from any party for each job.

Nonpartisan Job: A job that is not connected to a political party. For example, someone running for judge is not running as a Democrat or Republican. A person wins one of these jobs if they get over one half of the votes in the Primary election. If no one gets at least one-half the votes, the 2 people who got the most votes will run against each other in the General Election.

Who can vote in the Primary Election?
All people who are registered to vote in Oregon can vote for the nonpartisan jobs (like judges). But only voters who are registered as a Republican or a Democrat can vote in some races. For this election, registered Republicans and Democrats will choose the person they want to run for U.S. Representative in Congress and for Governor.

 

 

This Voting Guide was written with the help of:
HAVA, Help America Vote Act
Carol and Velma Saling Foundation Program on Constitutional and Legal Policy of the Open Society Institute
The Education Fund of the League of Women Voters
Members of the League of Women Voters of Oregon
Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust
Vernier Software and Technology
Oregon School Employees Association
PacifiCorp
Wells Fargo
Oregon Advocacy Center
Oregon Literacy
Pamplin Media Group
The Standard

League of Women Voters of Oregon
1330 12th St. SE, Suite 200
Salem, OR 97302
Ph: 503-581-5722
Fax: 503-581-940
E-mail: lwvor@lwvor.org
Web: www.lwvor.org