Oregon Elections Division launches ‘CLEAR’ initiative, aims to boost compliance with campaign finance laws

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Elections Division announced the CLEAR initiative Monday, a new project that aims to increase compliance with Oregon’s campaign finance laws through greater transparency and education.

“CLEAR is an important project that will increase compliance with campaign finance laws in Oregon,” said Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade. “Everyone wins when campaigns play by the rules.”

The CLEAR Initiative will be an ongoing project, her office said in a news release, which continues below:

Today, we are announcing three initial steps to support campaigns through education and training, while also improving transparency in campaign finance:

1. We’re highlighting campaign finance transparency and education on Oregonvotes.gov. A new call out feature on the site will make it easier for the public to find ORESTAR and other campaign finance related information.

2. The Elections Division will begin publishing an online database of campaign finance violations and associated penalties. The database will be updated monthly and provide the public with more information about campaign finance violations.

3. The Division is also rolling out a series of training videos, live trainings and compliance documentation to support campaigns in their efforts to comply with campaign finance laws.

See the changes at Oregonvotes.gov or jump straight to the new materials at Oregonvotes.gov/transparency.

“The goal of CLEAR is to increase compliance with campaign finance laws, because Oregonians deserve fair elections where everyone plays by the rules,” said Secretary Griffin-Valade. “The updates announced today will help set the stage for larger investments we hope to make in the coming years, including an overhaul of ORESTAR, pending Legislative approval.”