Voters’ Pamphlet is standardized

A message from County Clerk Nancy Blankenship:

As the Deschutes County clerk and president of the Oregon Association of County Clerks, I wanted to respond to Monday’s Bulletin piece about the November 2016 Voters’ Pamphlet.

As county and state elections officials, part of our responsibility is to provide county-specific information in over 1.8 million Voters’ Pamphlets to help Oregonians access information on the upcoming election.

This election, state elections published 20 different versions of the Voters’ Pamphlet across the state, varying in size from 116 to 140 pages. Many counties, including Deschutes, insert their voters’ pamphlet in the state’s. The county’s insert is placed in the middle of the state’s pamphlet for ease of assembly and cost savings. The insert includes a disclaimer stating:

“This is the beginning of your county voters’ pamphlet. The county portion of this joint voters’ pamphlet is inserted in the center of the state portion. Each page of the county voters’ pamphlet is clearly marked with a color bar on the outside edge. All information contained in the county portion of this pamphlet has been assembled and printed by your county clerk.”

The placement of the insert is different for every county based on the size of the pamphlet but always added in the middle. This election, the Deschutes insert is located between arguments in favor of Measure 97.

The process to assemble Voters’ Pamphlets has been standardized over many years. This election’s pamphlets are consistent with those procedures. We appreciate this chance to explain.