It’s official: Oregon has become the only state in the country with three major political parties. Secretary of State Kate Brown announced Monday afternoon that the Independent Party of Oregon has enough members to be a major party, on par with the Republican and Democratic parties. As of Feb. 2, the party had 108,742 members, just three more than the threshold requires, which is more than 5 percent of the registered voters in the 2014 gubernatorial election. Brown noted in a statement that the party will be subject to re-verification on Aug. 17, which could potentially change the outcome if it were to lose four members.
This ruling changes Oregon’s elections in two ways.
First, it allows the Independent Party to participate in the May primary election, which is run by the state. Currently, the party runs its own elections during the summer. In the future, it will enjoy the same service from the state that Republican and Democratic parties do, with official ballots sent to members.
Second, it will require the Independent Party to nominate only its own members, rather than following its current system of nominating people who have also been nominated by the Republican or Democratic parties.
Full Article: Oregon is officially a three-party state.