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Candidate Filing Fee Survey
In the 2024 General Election, Portlanders used ranked-choice voting to elect the mayor, auditor, and city councilors for the first time. Following the election, the City Elections Division analyzed election data from a variety of sources including:
- Post election polling
- Focus Groups
- Multnomah County's Ballot Data Report
- League of Women Voters' City Council Survey
The Dilemma
Due to low filing fees and simple to meet minimum qualifications, Portland is one of the easiest cities of its size to get on the ballot. This resulted in 118 candidates qualifying to the ballot for 5 Portland City offices.
Findings from post-election data demonstrated that the high number of candidates on the ballot caused several issues including:
- Voters felt overwhelmed
- Some voters skipped contests due to feeling uninformed on the high number of candidates
- The election results were more difficult to read and analyze for some
- Candidates reported struggling to get resources
- Candidates reported skipping out on overcrowded candidate forums and events.
The Proposed Solution
Current filing fees are $75 for City Council and $100 for Mayor/Auditor. Portland has one of the lowest costs for a candidate to file in comparison to any major city in the United States.
City | Candidate Filing Fee |
As part of an effort to reduce the high number of non-serious candidates on Portland City ballots, the Elections Division is planning to increase this filing fee. Note, that an economic hardship waiver and nominating petition will continue to be available for those unable to pay the fee.
We are proposing three potential increases that we believe can help to address this issue. The increases are in the low, moderate, and high range and are each outlined in more detail below. Smaller fee increases keep the ballot more accessible, but are less likely to solve the above problems. Larger fee increases will almost certainly lower the candidate pool, but run the risk of eliminating viable candidates from that pool.
[insert details of each policy here]
Let us know how you feel
Please complete the survey to indicate which policy you most support. We are also looking to gather information from this short survey on the best ways to engage with you in the future! The whole survey should take less than 2 minutes.
Questions?
Do you have general questions about ranked-choice voting, your district, or anything election related? Let us know! Send in questions through Elections Office's email below.
Email the City Elections Office