Honest Elections and Open and Accountable Elections
In November 2018, Portland voters passed the Honest Elections policy. The ballot measure amended the Portland City Charter to create contribution limits and disclosure requirements for candidates running for the city offices. This is a different policy than the Open and Accountable Elections program, which was created by a City Council vote in 2016.
If a candidate is running under Open and Accountable Elections, some of the Honest Elections rules apply to them and some do not:
- Candidates participating in Open and Accountable Elections are exempt from the contribution limits created by Honest Elections (but they must still adhere to the OAE contribution limits to receive public matching funds).
- Candidates participating in Open and Accountable Elections must follow the disclosure requirements. They must list on their advertisements the top 5 donors who have given $1016 or more to their campaign. For OAE candidates, this would include their seed funders and their in-kind donors--if those individuals or entities have given over $1016.
It is important to note that the Office of Open and Accountable Elections does not oversee or enforce the Honest Elections provisions. Those provisions are enforced by the City Elections Office. If your campaign or organization has questions about how to comply with the Honest Elections law (including the disclosure requirements), please review their website and direct your questions to their office.