Oregon Civics: How Your State Government Works

by bam

A practical, non-partisan guide to how the state of Oregon governs itself, and how you take part where you live. Oregon shaped American democracy twice over: it gave the nation the 'Oregon System' (the modern citizen initiative and referendum, copied by states everywhere) and it was the FIRST state to run all its elections entirely by mail, later pioneering automatic voter registration too. You'll learn Oregon's Constitution of 1859, its plural executive (no Lieutenant Governor), its Legislature of 30 senators and 60 representatives, how it elects judges on a nonpartisan ballot, and its counties, cities, and nationally known land-use planning. Time-sensitive facts are flagged, pointing to sos.oregon.gov. Cited to Oregon's own official sources (oregonlegislature.gov, sos.oregon.gov, courts.oregon.gov).