Oregon’s presidential primary field is set

Oregon Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins released Thursday the final list of candidates to appear on the 2016 Democratic and Republican presidential primary ballots for the May 17 primary election.

“Campaigns for both the Democratic and Republican nomination for president are not showing signs of slowing down,” Atkins said. “While the role Oregon’s May primary will play in the race for delegates is unclear at this point, I want Oregonians to know their options for participating in this upcoming historic primary.”

Oregon will hold three major party primaries on May 17th by the Democratic Party, the Independent Party of Oregon, and the Republican Party. The final lists are as follows, in alphabetical order:

Democratic Party

Independent Party

Republican Party

Hillary Clinton

No Candidate Filed

Ted Cruz

Bernie Sanders

Write In: _____

John Kasich

Write In:_____

Donald Trump

Write In: _____

Although the Independent Party of Oregon will not have a candidate in the Presidential primary, IPO members or those who request IPO ballots will be able to write in a candidate and will be able to vote in any other contested primaries that may be on the IPO ballot.

Oregon law allows major parties to decide whether to hold “open” or “closed” primaries. In this year’s May Primary, both the Democratic and Republican parties will hold “closed” primaries – meaning that a voter must be registered with that party by April 26th to participate in its primary election.

This May, the Independent Party of Oregon will hold its first primary as a major party. Their primary will be “open” to all non-affiliated voters in the state, as well those voters registered as members of the Independent Party of Oregon. Voters who want to participate in the Independent Party of Oregon primary while maintaining their status as a non-affiliated voter should contact their county clerk’s office by 5:00 PM on April 26th.

Oregonians can register to vote or change their party registration at www.oregonvotes.gov. As part of a public education effort by Oregon’s Secretary of State, the Elections Division began sending notifications to each of the state’s approximately 540,000 non-affiliated voters on Tuesday to help make those voters aware of their options to participate in the May primary elections.

More information on voting and a link to register to vote online can be found at www.oregonvotes.gov.