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Most candidates ignore survey Oregon�s participation in Vote Smart questionnaires is nation�s lowest By Dani Dodge Only a handful of local legislative candidates filled out a questionnaire intended to give control of the political process back to voters. The low local return is part of a statewide trend that has seen Oregon go from the state with the highest return of the Project Vote Smart surveys, to the lowest. The local candidates who filled out the questionnaires were Rep. Jason Atkinson, a Republican who is running for state Senate District 25; and the three candidates vying for State House District 52: Alan Bates, a Democrat; Jane Hunts, a Republican; and Garland Williams, a Socialist. Hunts explained: "Although I can understand some not filling them out because of the wording, that was outweighed in my mind by the need to give the voters as much information as possible." Other candidates declined to fill out the multiple-choice form that asks for positions on everything from abortion to taxes. They said they didn�t want their opponents to use the answers out of context in attack ads. Of the 146 candidates in the Oregon congressional and legislative races, "only 44 were willing to expose themselves to opposition research in an effort to reach out to the public," according to a Project Vote Smart press release. Two years ago, 73 percent of Oregon legislative candidates � the highest percentage in the country � filled out the questionnaire. Project Vote Smart is a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that posts the answers from thousands of candidates across the country on its Web site at www.vote-smart.org. Nationally, 70 percent of congressional candidates fill out the surveys. The group � whose founders include Mark Hatfield, Michael Dukakis and Geraldine Ferraro � believes that by providing the information asked on the surveys, candidates are providing voters with information essential to making prudent Election Day decisions. But some legislators say they�ve been disappointed by the quality of the Vote Smart surveys � which the group refers to as a test. Ashland legislator Judy Uherbelau said she was dismayed when she first saw what the Project Vote Smart survey asked, because the multiple-choice and yes-or-no answer formats didn�t give enough room for explanation of complex issues. Then in 1997, Project Vote Smart said Uherbelau "failed" when she turned in her survey with in-depth explanations to the questions. "It left a sour taste in my mouth," Uherbelau said. In 1998, several candidates complained that opponents used their answers off the Project Vote Smart questionnaire to unfairly label them. Rep. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, said her opponent used the questionnaire to mischaracterize her as soft on crime. She e-mailed that information to Barbara Davidson, of Medford, who is running for House District 50 against Rep. Rob Partridge, R-Medford. "It happened for more than one person and in more than one race," Davidson said. "Based on that, why put yourself in that position? You make fliers and attend forums and state your opinion that way." Project Vote Smart says it doesn�t give permission to candidates to use its information in political advertising, and it publicly admonishes candidates who do. Neither Davidson nor Patridge filled out the form. In the race for House District 51, both Democrat Lon Holston and Republican Cherryl Walker declined to fill out the form. Walker said she�s been inundated with surveys the last few months, and this one had questions that were either too broad or too narrow. For instance, one series of questions asks if the candidate is in favor of increasing funding for K through 12 schools. "We don�t know exactly how much money there will be and what the demands will be," Walker said. "Until you get in the Legislature, you don�t know what you will have to choose between � of course I�d support more funding for K through 12, but then the community colleges need funding too. " "It�s not that I�m trying to be evasive, but I have to be careful of constituents coming to a conclusion about a position that I don�t believe." But Vote Smart staff members point out that with each answer, the candidate can put in some explanation. They also can leave 30 percent of the questionnaire blank and still pass the test. And it�s one of the few surveys sent to politicians that is available to the public. Richard Kimball, the president of Project Vote Smart, said that the downward trend in Oregon seems to be an aberration. Most states are seeing record returns of the surveys now that the 12-year-old group is getting better known. He said the low participation in Oregon is spurred by some in both the Republican and Democratic caucuses telling candidates not to fill out the forms. "They don�t want to open themselves to opposition," Kimball said. "If you don�t expose yourself to the opponent, you can�t expose yourself to the public. "It�s a silly excuse." And at least of few local politicians say the benefits outweighed the risks when it came to filling out the forms. Hunts said that she felt the Vote Smart people tried their best to make the questions fair and unbiased, even though they were hard to answer. Her opponent Bates agreed, noting sometimes a candidate needs to break with the party to fulfill obligations to the voters. "We will be as open with the public as we can be," he said of his campaign. "We are doing what we think is right for voters and maybe not what�s right politically." 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