Measure 117 is a Simple Improvement to Our Elections

The right to vote is the most precious right of all because all other rights are dependent on it. For Black Americans, the struggle for voting rights has been central to our experience in American society. For well over 200 hundred years, heroes from Ida B. Wells to Fannie Lou Hammer to John Lewis have risked life and limb to gain and protect the right to vote.

 Still, it is easy in our current political climate for some to feel frustrated and discouraged. Political forces around the country have launched an all-out assault on voting rights that targets Black communities. State legislatures are restricting voting access in districts with large Black populations and are imposing other barriers and pernicious restrictions.

 Our communities have faced numerous barriers to participating in the democratic process, including a lack of meaningful choices and voters not seeing ourselves reflected in candidate options. These barriers also negatively impact candidates who would like to run for office. In the way our elections work now, candidates of color are often told to “wait their turn” or are discouraged from running for office for fear that they will “split” the vote with another candidate. Ultimately, this fear can act as a barrier for people of color to seek elected office despite a strong desire to represent their communities.

 To ensure that our democracy here in Oregon continues to thrive and is strengthened, we not only have to improve and broaden access but make the process one that is fair and reflective of the choices our communities want to make.

The Urban League of Portland supports Measure 117 because it will lead to a diversity of voices in our elections and improve representation for all Oregonians.

 Our democracy thrives when more people, of all cultures, faiths and backgrounds, have a seat at the table. Oregon has the opportunity to realize this principle of equity with Measure 117. In the places that have adopted ranked choice voting, more first-time candidates, women, people of color and young people, run for office and win in greater numbers. One example is New York City, which elected its most diverse city council in 2022 featuring a majority of women and people of color with the help of ranked choice voting. We can also look at the dozens of places that use ranked choice voting, like the state of Maine, to know that voters of all demographics like it, understand it, and prefer it to the current system.

 Measure 117 will address these issues by giving voters more choices on their ballots to choose candidates that best represent us, and in turn, giving candidates more opportunities to run and win. Measure 117 opens up the playing field for a larger bench of diverse candidates with different lived experiences so all Oregonians can see themselves reflected in the candidate pool.

Measure 117 will create ranked choice elections for statewide and federal offices in Oregon, giving us the option to vote for our favorite candidates and rank our back up choices, too.

Our bottom line is that ranked choice voting is a simple improvement to our elections that helps ensure all voice are heard in our democracy, which is why we are encouraging voters to vote YES on Measure 117 this November.