The Oregon Supreme Court made a rare move Wednesday that could have big implications for campaign finance reform in Portland—and across the state.
The court will hear a case this year concerning the Multnomah County 2016 ballot measure that sought to ban corporations from donating to candidates, and place limits on individual contributions. That measure passed overwhelmingly, but several business groups, including the Portland Business Alliance, opposed it in court.
Last year, a Multnomah County circuit court judge ruled that the measure violated free speech, bumping the case forward to the Oregon Court of Appeals. But the Supreme Court just took the unusual step of bypassing the appeals court by scheduling to hear the case this September.
“I think that [the Supreme Court] realized this is a campaign finance related issue that directly affects upcoming elections,” says Jason Kafoury of Honest Elections Oregon, the organization behind the 2016 measure. “I think that the Supreme Court made the right decision by allowing the voters a chance to have their decision come out before November of 2020.”
Oregon currently has among the most lax campaign finance laws in the country, and is one of the only states where corporations and individuals can donate unlimited amounts to political campaigns.
In 1997, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that political contributions are a form of free speech in Oregon, a decision that the county circuit judge based the 2018 ruling on. Kafoury points out that 37 states have similar free speech language in their constitutions—but also place limits on campaign spending.
If the Oregon Supreme Court rules in favor of the measure in September , the impact wouldn’t be confined to Multnomah County elections. The statewide precedent could open the door for sweeping campaign finance reform across Oregon.
It’s an issue that’s already brewing in other jurisdictions. Portland voters passed a similar measure (also backed by Honest Elections Oregon) that applies to city elections last November, and the Oregon Senate just formed a new campaign finance committee for the 2019 session. Governor Kate Brown announced Wednesday that she plans to tackle campaign finance reform during her final four-year term.
“If the Oregon Supreme Court made a decision that it was constitutional according to our state constitution to put limits on campaign contributions, I believe that would end the debate,” Kafoury said.
A Portland city attorney and Multnomah County are both expected to file amicus briefs—that is, statements from parties that are not directly involved in a case, but have a strong interest in its outcome—in support of Honest Elections Oregon, Kafoury said.
The Supreme Court’s decision to consider campaign finance comes a few months after the most expensive governor’s race in state history. Nike founder Phil Knight contributed $4.5 million to Brown’s opponent, Knute Buehler—a donation that Kafoury said “changed the dynamic” of Oregon elections.
