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Last week, Secretary of State Bev Clarno's Elections Division notified the Oregon Republican Party via email that the party had missed the Aug. 25 deadline to get its party statement in the General Election Voters' Pamphlet. The party's filing was 29 seconds late, and as a result, the statement was rejected from this November's pamphlet.
On Sept. 3, an attorney for the Oregon GOP and former state Sen. Kevin Mannix filed a lawsuit to overturn the decision, claiming party chairman Bill Currier began inputting the statement, which was due by 5 pm, at 4:52, but the required payment wasn't processed until 5:00:29. On Sept. 14, he won. WW reported the snafu at wweek.com. Here's what our readers had to say:
TheDerekDenton via wweek.com: "While I laugh, this would be a problem if it was a different party, and I think 29 seconds of grace should be granted."
@John4517 via Twitter: "As a Democrat, I'd probably cut them a little slack, but it does seem grossly incompetent to try to file within seconds of the deadline. What was that all about anyway?"
@kokobyrd via Twitter: "Seems everyone else understood the deadline."
Judi Palumbo via Facebook: "Spend less time trying to recall the governor and more time doing what you're supposed to do."
Aimee Schendel McAuliffe via Facebook: "Twenty-nine seconds? I'm sorry—I'd rather give people an opportunity to be informed than worry about something that is less than a minute. And yes, of course they should read the directions."
Linda Anderson Zielinski via Facebook: "Time matters. When dropping your ballot off at any dropbox in Oregon on Election Day, they have someone posted at the dropbox to stop anyone from putting their ballot in if the time is more than 8 pm exactly. That means one or more seconds beyond 8 pm."
Jeremiah Jones via wweek.com: "They had weeks to submit it and waited until the last second. It's their own damn fault and they now have to live with the consequences. Plus, it's literally the law that they have to have it in by a certain time. Why should they get to break the law?"
WHL via wweek.com: "Not letting them on the pamphlet after a mere 29-second delay is pretty bad optics if we care about the perception of fairness and impartiality…but so would be granting them a one-time exception while enforcing the rule for everyone else. One does not simply 'grant an exception' in the world of bureaucracy. (Trust me. Civil servant.) My heart and head are totally torn."
ReasonableSkeptic via wweek.com: "How dysfunctional that a major party can't get their voter pamphlet statement in at least a half-hour before the deadline. Why wait until the last minute? Were they still arguing over what it should say? And they want us to elect them to run the government."
Jim Andersen via Facebook: "At the end of the day it really doesn't make any difference. Other than Eastern Oregon, where in the state will a Republican actually win?"
Kate Rebecca via Facebook: "Why did he wait until 4:52 to begin the submission? That's just sloppy. Further, if it was the Dems who'd want special treatment, they'd fight it tooth and nail. Suck it up, buttercup, and better luck next time."
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