Document text
Party cards ruled part of process Why does the county have to pay the cost of notifying non-affiliated voters of their option to vote in a Democratic or Republican primary? Why doesn't the political party that wants the non-affiliated voters to have the option foot the bill? -- Prudence H., Harbor The state considers giving political parties a shot at non-affiliated voters' opinions in the primary to be part of the electoral process, according to Jackson County Clerk Kathy Beckett. And counties foot the bill for primary and general elections. Even though the primary elections are partisan events, they are legal elections that are conducted at public expense. As we explained in the Since You Asked question last week that prompted your query, Prudence, Oregon Democrats have opened their primary to nonaffiliated voters. So the clerk's office must notify independents they have that option in the May mail-in election. But, if they had a mind to, state legislators could change the rules and adopt a new statute that requires political parties to pay for the notification. (Send your questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; or by fax to (541) 776-4376; or by e-mail to: [email protected] . Please include your name, address and phone number for verification.) Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA