71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .
 
LC 2131
 
                         House Bill 3333
 
Sponsored by Representative WESTLUND (at the request of Tom
  DeWolf)
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
 
  Allows county, by ordinance, to designate office of county
commissioner or county judge as nonpartisan office.
 
                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to nonpartisan offices; amending ORS 203.035, 249.002,
  249.088 and 254.005.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1. ORS 203.035 is amended to read:
  203.035. (1) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, the
governing body or the electors of a county may by ordinance
exercise authority within the county over matters of county
concern, to the fullest extent allowed by Constitutions and laws
of the United States and of this state, as fully as if each
particular power comprised in that general authority were
specifically listed in ORS 203.030 to 203.075.
  (2) The power granted by this section is in addition to other
grants of power to counties, shall not be construed to limit or
qualify any such grant and shall be liberally construed, to the
end that counties have all powers over matters of county concern
that it is possible for them to have under the Constitutions and
laws of the United States and of this state.
  (3) An ordinance adopted by a county governing body that
changes the number or mode of selection of elective county
officers shall not take effect unless the ordinance is submitted
to and approved by the electors of the county at a biennial
primary election or general election. However, no ordinance
adopted under this section may change the mode of selection of a
county assessor. { +  For purposes of this subsection, an
ordinance that changes the mode of selection of elective county
officers includes an ordinance that designates the office of
county commissioner or county judge as a nonpartisan office. + }
  (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
rights of the electors of a county to propose county ordinances
through exercise of the initiative power.
  SECTION 2. ORS 249.002 is amended to read:
  249.002. As used in this chapter:
  (1) 'Candidate' means an individual whose name is or is
expected to be printed on the official ballot.
  (2) 'County clerk' means the county clerk or the county
official in charge of elections.
  (3) 'Elector' means an individual qualified to vote under
section 2, Article II, Oregon Constitution.
  (4) 'Judge' means judge of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals,
circuit court or the Oregon Tax Court.
  (5) 'Member' means an individual who is registered as being
affiliated with the political party.
  (6) 'Minor political party' means a political party that has
qualified as a minor political party under ORS 248.008.
  (7) 'Nonpartisan office' means the office of judge,
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Commissioner of the Bureau
of Labor and Industries, any elected office of a metropolitan
service district under ORS chapter 268, justice of the peace,
county clerk, county assessor, county surveyor, county treasurer,
sheriff, district attorney { + , + }   { - or - }  any office
designated nonpartisan by a home rule charter { +  or, in any
county in which the office is designated nonpartisan by an
ordinance as provided in ORS 203.035, the office of county
commissioner or county judge + }.
  (8) 'Prospective petition' means the information, except
signatures and other identification of petition signers, required
to be contained in a completed petition.
  (9) 'Public office' means any national, state, county, city or
district office or position, except a political party office,
filled by the electors.
  (10) 'State office' means Governor, Secretary of State, State
Treasurer, Attorney General, Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor
and Industries, Superintendent of Public Instruction, judge,
state Senator, state Representative or district attorney.
  SECTION 3. ORS 249.088 is amended to read:
  249.088. (1) Unless otherwise provided by a home rule charter,
at the nominating election held on the date of the biennial
primary election, two candidates shall be nominated for
  { - the - }  { +  a + } nonpartisan office. However, when a
candidate, other than a candidate for the office of sheriff, a
candidate for the office of county clerk, a candidate for the
office of county treasurer { + , a candidate for the office of
county commissioner or county judge in a county in which the
office is designated nonpartisan by a home rule charter or by an
ordinance as provided in ORS 203.035, + } or a candidate to fill
a vacancy, receives a majority of the votes cast for the office
at the nominating election, that candidate is elected.
  (2) When a candidate for the office of sheriff, the office of
county clerk, the office of county treasurer { + , the office of
county commissioner or county judge in a county in which the
office is designated nonpartisan by a home rule charter or by an
ordinance as provided in ORS 203.035 + } or a candidate to fill a
vacancy receives a majority of votes cast for the office at the
nominating election, that candidate alone is nominated.
  SECTION 4. ORS 254.005 is amended to read:
  254.005. As used in this chapter:
  (1) 'Ballot' means any material on which votes may be cast for
candidates or measures. In the case of a recall election, '
ballot' includes material posted in a voting compartment or
delivered to an elector by mail.
  (2) 'Ballot label' means the material containing the names of
candidates or the measures to be voted on.
  (3) 'Chief elections officer' means the:
  (a) Secretary of State, regarding a candidate for a state
office or an office to be voted on in the state at large or in a
congressional district, or a measure to be voted on in the state
at large.
  (b) County clerk, regarding a candidate for a county office, or
a measure to be voted on in a county only.
  (c) City clerk, auditor or recorder, regarding a candidate for
a city office, or a measure to be voted on in a city only.
 
  (4) 'County clerk' means the county clerk or the county
official in charge of elections.
  (5) 'Elector' means an individual qualified to vote under
section 2, Article II, Oregon Constitution.
  (6) 'Major political party' means a political party that has
qualified as a major political party under ORS 248.006.
  (7) 'Measure' includes any of the following submitted to the
people for their approval or rejection at an election:
  (a) A proposed law.
  (b) An Act or part of an Act of the Legislative Assembly.
  (c) A revision of or amendment to the Oregon Constitution.
  (d) Local, special or municipal legislation.
  (e) A proposition or question.
  (8) 'Minor political party' means a political party that has
qualified as a minor political party under ORS 248.008.
  (9) 'Nonpartisan office' means the office of judge of the
Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, circuit court or the Oregon Tax
Court, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Commissioner of the
Bureau of Labor and Industries, any elected office of a
metropolitan service district under ORS chapter 268, justice of
the peace, county clerk, county assessor, county surveyor, county
treasurer, sheriff, district attorney { + , + }   { - or - }  any
office designated nonpartisan by a home rule charter { +  or, in
any county in which the office is designated nonpartisan by an
ordinance as provided in ORS 203.035, the office of county
commissioner or county judge + }.
  (10) 'Prospective petition' means the information, except
signatures and other identification of petition signers, required
to be contained in a completed petition.
  (11) 'Regular district election' means the election held each
year for the purpose of electing members of a district board as
defined in ORS 255.005 (2).
  (12) 'Voting machine' means:
  (a) Any device which will record every vote cast on candidates
and measures and which will either internally or externally total
all votes cast on that device.
  (b) Any device into which a ballot may be inserted and which is
so designed and constructed that the vote for any candidate or
measure may be indicated by punching or marking the ballot.
  (13) 'Vote tally system' means one or more pieces of equipment
necessary to examine and tally automatically the marked or
punched ballots.
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