Bradbury urges primary reform

Oregon secretary of state wants to rotate presidential voting

By Jennifer Anderson

The Portland Tribune, Jan 29, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (11 Reader comments)

Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury is a proponent of a plan to rotate the presidential primary system every four years, giving each state an opportunity to vote on candidates early in the process.

jIM CLARK / TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO

One week from today, voters in 22 states — nearly half the country — will head to the polls and cast their ballots for a presidential nominee.

To the dismay of many Oregon voters, however, this politically active swing state has been relegated to the sidelines during the national Super Tuesday events.

With a primary election set for May 20 — tying us with Kentucky as the 46th state to weigh in on the 2008 elections — the Democratic and Republican nominees typically are long decided.

Whether or not that’s actually the case this year, Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury wants to change the primary election system.

“It’s just nuts, the way the whole primary system is front-loaded,” he said, using the election term that refers to the biggest states holding their caucuses first.

By the time Oregon’s primary rolls around, “it’s not likely that our votes are going to really matter,” he said. “It’s not likely we’re going to get much attention from anybody.”

As one of the most vocal proponents of a 10-year-old reform proposal by the National Association of Secretaries of State that more than half the secretaries of state are supporting, Bradbury is looking to change that.

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