Oregon has a good track record — one of the strongest among the 50 states — on democracy.
The state makes it relatively easy for Oregonians to participate in elections compared with many other states. But threats to democracy lurk elsewhere — outside the state — and that means Oregon has a special role to play in setting an example.
The 2007 United Nations General Assembly resolution setting up the International Day of Democracy called democracy “a universal value based on the freely expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems, and their full participation in all aspects of life.”
Furthering democracy should not only be the work of elected officials but also the public needs to be involved, something that’s good to remember as States Newsroom and other media organizations across the country mark Democracy Day on Sunday, Sept. 15.
Oregon has been all over democracy for more than a century.
The sweeping electoral reforms that have been adopted nationally happened early in Oregon, and primarily thanks to a popular movement.