Thank you to everyone who signed the STAR Voting for Eugene Elections petition!

 

STAR Voting for Eugene is headed to the ballot! 
Vote YES on May 21st, 2024!!!

  • We collected a total of 14,430 signatures in only 100 days!

  • 100% of our signatures were collected by Oregonians and 33% were collected by volunteers! 

  • After validation, 74% of our signatures were accepted. We needed at least 9,689 and we got 10,040!

 

Thank you to each and every one of you who signed the petition, spread the word, donated, collected signatures, and helped get us to this point!

We couldn’t be more proud of our team and what we accomplished. STAR Voting is a modern voting reform that empowers voters to vote their conscience and truly levels the playing field for more representative elections.

Our canvassers are rockstars! We battled heat, wildfire smoke, and rain. Our staff, canvassers, and volunteers worked as a team, rose to the occasion, and pulled off what absolutely felt impossible!

The STAR for Eugene Ballot Initiative:

  • More choice. Instead of voting for one only, weigh in on as many candidates as you like.
  • User friendly. Voters score candidates from 0 up to 5 stars.
  • Just one election in November. Eugene elections are already non-partisan, and adopting STAR Voting would eliminate the need for expensive and low-turnout primaries for local offices.
  • STAR Voting improves representation for marginalized and disillusioned voters by leveling the playing field and ensuring that your vote can always make a difference.
  • Whether or not your favorite can win, your full vote automatically goes to the finalist you prefer. 
  • STAR Voting eliminates spoilers and vote splitting, so you can stop worrying about who you think can win and just focus on the candidates and the issues.
  • STAR Voting elects majority preferred winners.
  • STAR Voting would pay for itself within a few election cycles and then would start saving taxpayers money.
  • STAR Eugene dovetails perfectly with the STAR Voting for Oregon initiative, which would make STAR Voting the default voting method statewide, including for use in the party primaries and general elections for congress and president!
  • This is our chance to be a model for the rest of the nation.
  • Learn more about STAR Voting!

 

Initiative Details:

STAR Voting for Eugene would implement STAR Voting for mayor and city council elections. Eugene elections are already nonpartisan, so STAR Voting would make a separate expensive primary election unnecessary. Voters would just vote once in November. This would save money for both the city and for candidates compared to the current system. 

The STAR Voting for Eugene Initiative began circulating on June 22nd in conjunction with the STAR Voting for Oregon Initiative Petition, which launched in January 2023 and has been circulating since.

 

More info:

 

Volunteer Opportunities: 

Meetings and Chapter Calls: The STAR Voting Oregon Chapter meets monthly online. Open Democracy Discussion is held online weekly. We also have regular in person events, trainings and actions. Please check our events page for details and to get the meeting links, or add the Equal Vote events calendar to your google calendar directly.

Canvassing: Are you a people person who loves to talk about voting reform? If so, join our canvassing team or come table with us! More volunteers needed ASAP! 

More Opportunities: If you're looking for other ways to help, we also have many subcommittees and projects where we can put your skills and interests to work. Regardless of your location, availability, or schedule, you can help get this over the finish line! The Oregon chapter is currently in need of people with the following skills, and we're looking for the following items to help us complete work on our Eugene office. To volunteer, please sign up here.

Skills needed:

  • Canvassing
  • Tabling
  • Event planning and coordination
  • Outreach to other organizations
  • Construction skills - basic painting and carpentry
  • Zine folding

Items needed:

  • A projector
  • Paint in colors from our logo, for sign-making
  • White interior house paint
  • A high quality printer (large ink cartridges) 
  • Plywood and trim wood for the office

 

 

 

Deep Dive:

  • What's wrong with the current system? 
    Our current system works fine if there are only two candidates...or two parties in the election, but it breaks down in competitive elections. 
    Learn more here.
  • Comparing the Options:
    STAR Voting was invented to go further to deliver on the goals of the Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) movement while addressing serious known issues with the older RCV proposal. 
    Learn more here.

  • The 2020 STAR Eugene Initiative Lawsuit: 
    STAR Voting should have qualified for the ballot in 2020, but Lane County Elections threw out valid signatures and then refused to correct their errors. A majority of Eugene City Council agreed but declined to take action. Now it's a federal voter disenfranchisement lawsuit. 
    Learn more here.

  • History of the Eugene Equal Vote Chapter:
    Eugene is the flagship of the STAR Voting movement. Read up on the backstory and how we got where we are today.  
    Learn more here.


Please contact us at [email protected]