By Julia Shumway/Oregon Capital Chronicle
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump once again declined to submit a statement to Oregon’s state-issued voters’ pamphlet, skipping an opportunity to make his case to the state’s 3 million voters.
Candidates aren’t required to submit voters’ pamphlet statements, and Trump will still appear on all Oregon ballots. But most candidates participate in the pamphlet, which is mailed to all Oregon households and is a cheap – presidential candidates pay the top fee of $3,500 – way to share a campaign’s message with all voters.
The state-issued voters’ pamphlet, which will be mailed to voters by mid-October, will feature four presidential candidates: Democrat Kamala Harris, Libertarian Chase Oliver, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who withdrew from contention in several swing states but will still appear on the Oregon ballot as the We The People party’s nominee. Trump, Progressive nominee Cornel West and Constitution Party nominee Randall Terry will appear on the ballot but did not submit statements.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, is the only vice presidential candidate who submitted a voters’ pamphlet statement.
The statements are no more than 325 words and include a candidate’s occupation, job background, educational background and prior government experience, followed by space for candidates’ pitches and endorsements. It’s a class C felony to lie about educational or professional backgrounds, though candidates aren’t bound by the truth in other parts of the statement. A 2017 effort to criminalize lying in the statement failed because of concerns about free speech.
Prior to Trump, who also skipped the primary voters’ pamphlet, only three major party presidential candidates have declined to provide statements for the voters’ pamphlet since 2012. John Kasich, Rick Santorum and Tulsi Gabbard didn’t provide statements for primary campaigns.
Trump’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
This story first appeared in the Oregon Capital Chronicle.
