Ballot close up

Jackson County voters could face a number of election-reform measures on the November 2024 ballot, and the League of Women Voters Rogue Valley wants to explain why it supports them all.

The League plans to hold two in-person meetings to discuss its position on the various initiatives, with the first from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Medford library, 205 S. Central Ave., and from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Ashland library, 410 Siskiyou Blvd.

A Zoom meeting will also be held from 6-8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30. To register for the Zoom meeting, go to lwvrv.org/.

Three local initiatives include increasing the number of Jackson County commissioners from three to five, making the position nonpartisan instead of partisan and reducing commissioners’ salaries.

Most of the potential ballot measures are in the process of gathering signatures to qualify for the November 2024 election.

“We wanted to have more time for voter education,” said Barbara Klein, action chair for the League. “We want to give people a chance to think a little before you sign a petition.”

Only the legislatively sponsored, ranked-choice voting measure is already qualified for the ballot and would allow voters to select their first choice for an elected position and then rank the remaining candidates in order of preference.

Also being discussed are Initiative Petition 9, which offers statewide campaign finance reform, and Initiative Petition 14, which would create an independent commission to create legislative districts.

The initiatives will be gathering signatures over the coming months, and one of the goals of the League is to educate voters on its rationale behind supporting them.

“Think before you ink is important for us,” said Barbara Klein, action chair for the League.

She said the meetings will present the reasons why the League endorses them, and members will respond to questions from the audience.

The most complicated group of initiatives relates to changing the makeup of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners.

Klein said the League in 2019 had already taken a position in support of a five-member board of commissioners.

Jackson County for All of Us, the organization supporting the change, has already gathered more than 25% of the 10,500 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.

The two other initiatives relating to the commissioners include changing it from a partisan to a non-partisan position, and by taking the existing salaries of the current three commissioners and dividing it by five, effectively reducing the salaries of the existing commissioners.

According to Jackson County for All of Us, county commissioners are the highest paid commissioners in Oregon.

For more information, go to jacksoncountyforall.org.

Political finance reform is the goal behind Initiative Petition 9, which would place limits on contributions to candidates and would seek greater disclosure on where the money comes from.

The initiative would also prohibit placing anonymous advertising by dark money groups to support or oppose candidates, an issue that has plagued local candidates running for state office.

The campaign website is honest-elections.com.

Initiative Petition 14 would require an independent commission to redraw legislative districts in Oregon rather than by politicians in Salem. The campaign website for Petition 14 is peoplenotpoliticiansoregon.com.