Oregon Measure 117 will increase Native representation in elected office

Ranked Choice (RVC) is strongly endorsed by Indigenous organizations who believe it can increase their elected office representation.

Oregon Measure 117 on Tuesday’s ballot

Oregonians must decide on Tuesday, November 5, whether they will support the introduction of RCV. Known as Measure 117, the RCV would take effect in the 2028 election if approved.

Measure 117 allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference for federal, state and general elections.

Voters will rank candidates in order of preference

The ranking system even applies to the office of the President of the United States and the state positions of governor, secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general, and commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries. It will not affect the state elections.

Portland will test RCV

Portland will test RCV for its city elections this year, including for the positions of mayor and city council members.

Measure 117 has received support from over 130 statewide organizations, including two Native nonprofits, Tribal Democracy Projects and NAYA Action Fund, as well as community-based nonprofits such as Seeding Justice, More Equitable Democracy, and the Coalition of Communities of Color.

Tribal Democracy Project co-founder Brian Smith says the focus of the organization in 2024 was to support Measure 117, which they see as a “more proportional system where Native people are elected, especially in rural areas.”

Smith believes that RCV allows people to vote for values ​​rather than strategically. Measure 117 promotes the right to choose one candidate and not rank others.

As an example, he pointed to Alaska, which adopted RCV in 2020. In the 2022 election, US Rep. Mary Peltola, Yup’ik elected Alaska’s first Native member of Congress.

RCV supported by affiliated tribes of Northwest Indians

A resolution supporting the RCV was approved last month at the annual convention of the Associated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI), which represents 57 Native Nations from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, northern California, southeastern Alaska and western Montana .

The resolution declared that if tribal voters can engage in the political system, ‘free from barriers that currently hinder us’, they can fairly and equitably regain power and participation.

Measure 117 is also endorsed by the NAYA Action Fund, a nonprofit that works for political advocacy and electoral empowerment in partnership with Native communities in Oregon and Washington.

NAYA Executive Director William Miller, Blackfeet and Cherokee, says current voting methods do not create an electorate that is truly representative of the people and for the people, as required by the Constitution.

NAYA Welcomes Shift Away From Current Winner-Takes-All System

He says a shift away from a winner-takes-all system gives voters more choice and the ability to vote according to their values, leading to a fairer democracy.

Miller believes his people deserve to be heard and seen, and Measure 117 allows them to run for office, paving the way for them to have a voice at the table – to be heard and seen.

“I am hopeful that Measure 117 will usher in a new wave of Black, Indigenous and Colored (BIPOC) candidates to run for and win elected office,” Miller said.

Measure 116 Also supported by NAYA

NAYA also supports Measure 116, which they believe goes hand in hand with Measure 117 to create a fairer voting system.

Measure 116 would authorize an independent commission to set salaries for high-ranking officials such as the governor, secretary of state, legislators and other elected officials, instead of the current system where politicians set their pay scales.

Currently, the Oregon State Legislature pays its representatives $35,000 a year. This low pay scale makes elections attractive only to wealthy or retired candidates, excluding many potential candidates, according to Miller.