https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB2004/Enrolled
An election is by nature competitive: the citizen is called to choose one candidate while rejecting others. Casting one's vote is a clarifying process.
HB 2004 seeks to replace transparency with opacity. Under this bill, the voter considering a list of candidates would be called on to rank ALL of the candidates on the list, in order of preference. Thus, for a slate of three, four, five, or six candidates, there would be 6, 24, 120, or 720 possible rankings, exponentially increasing the time and mental effort involved in filling out a ballot. This is a deterrent to voting.
Under this vote-counting system, "votes that had been counted for the defeated candidate are transferred to each ballot's next highest-ranked candidate". This process makes vote-counting exponentially more complex and time consuming, and renders hand-counting impracticable. This is a blow to transparency.
The creation of a system where votes are routinely "transferred" from one candidate to another invites abuse and manipulation by shadowy groups intent on thwarting the will of the people. It is not hard to foresee that a group of candidates, each unable to gain significant support from the public, could run as ostensible "opponents" to one another while in fact colluding. This is an invitation to rule by cartels.
The existing electoral process already provides ample opportunities for Oregon voters to winnow the field of candidates to those few they deem most desirable. Tampering with that process is courting disaster.
