[Libs-Or] Civics for Adults - Elections and Campaign Financing

[Donna Cohen]

Hi all,

 

We passed this election season and will soon be engaged in an even more
significant election season. Election issues are not simply "am I
registered?", "when do I send in my ballot" and "what's on the ballot"
[although that last one can be confusing]. It's looking beyond the immediate
conditions of voting to understand that our registration and voting systems
are products of human design and that there are multiple ways of approaching
almost every aspect of elections. Ditto for campaign financing.

 

And, understanding that there are groups in Oregon - on the local and state
level - which are not only concerned with these structures but have actually
organized to influence/change them.* The first step, of course, is becoming
aware of alternatives. Then one is capable of delving further. My workshop
on Elections and Campaign finance is geared to raising awareness of multiple
related issues and of options for involvement with them. 

 

The workshop is also customized so that upcoming elections in a local
community are highlighted. Much to my delight I mentioned, in a workshop, an
opening for an elected office in Oregon City last April and it resulted in a
woman deciding to run for School Board - and she won!

 

Here are some of the topics typically covered in this workshop:

Voting as Constitutional right(?), Voter Rights, Voter Fraud, Voter
Registration, Voter Turnout, Felon Voting, Voting [and Winning!] Methods,
Redistricting, Electoral College, National Popular Vote, Campaign Financing
and Dark Money, Disclosure and Oregon's Campaign Finance Database, Public
Financing of Elections. Also, Local Electoral Information.

 

* Whether we are talking about changing "plurality" winning to a
"ranked-choice" voting approach [as Benton County plans to do] or moving
toward city officials representing discrete geographical districts vs
"at-large" [as some in Portland would like to do], or changing the form of
the local governing body [as Clark County, WA did and as Douglas County
tried to do this month], there are many ways our elections [and governing]
systems might be altered.

 

Donna

 

Donna L Cohen, MEd, MLIS

Portland, Oregon

503-737-1425

citizen at civicthinker.net

Civics for Adults Workshops: To Enhance Civic Knowledge and Inspire
Political Engagement

Keep up-to-date: Facebook:
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know if you want to be on the Civics email list.

 

 

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