PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Voters' Pamphlet is mailed out to every Oregonian no matter if they're registered voters or not, and the state spends about $900,000 getting it to your doorsteps every election.
The hefty 151-page booklet is meant to be a tool for voters to inform themselves on important measures, ballots, candidates and political parties.
KGW News set out to Verify how accurate the pamphlet really is -- and who really decides what information is included in it.
We spoke with Oregon Elections Director Steve Trout, who said groups wanting to submit opposing or supporting arguments for measures, ballots or candidates pay anywhere between $600 and $3,500.
"It's a tradition we've had for a long time to provide information to pubic that's coming from a trusted source from the state, that gets to every single household. Not just every registered voter, but 1.8 million people," Trout said.
Trout also explained statements submitted for the pamphlet are not proofed for accuracy or content.
"We don't review them for content or truthfulness or any of those things. We leave that up to the public or opponents. There's processes that allow you to challenge that in court," Trout said.
Some groups have even used that loophole to submit their arguments in the wrong place on purpose.
"If they want the argument to be in the opposition category and they confirm that, that's where we'll print it," Trout said.
MEASURE 105
Groups furnishing arguments for or against Measure 105 -- the measure that aims to repeal Oregon's status as a sanctuary state -- had to pay $1,200 or gather 500 signatures per argument.
KGW spoke with Cynthia Kendoll, who leads Stop Oregon Sanctuaries and Oregonians For Immigration Reform (OFIR), which initially got Measure 105 on the ballot.
Kendoll and another member of Stop Oregon Sanctuaries are the only people who submitted the five arguments in favor of Measure 105.
"We just wanted to make sure our message in the pamphlet covered what's most important about the measure," Kendoll said.
On the other side, there are 36 more arguments against the measure. Andrea Williams with the group No On Measure 105 furnished several arguments herself. She said many organizations donated directly to their campaign in order to fund those statements.
"Other groups that were grassroots, volunteer-run, and maybe didn't have the money to pay for [the arguments], they actually collected signatures from US citizens in order to be placed in the pamphlet," Williams said.
WHAT WE CAN VERIFY
The Voters' Pamphlet is certainly a useful tool, but Oregonians should be vigilant about taking it for its word. Because the pamphlet isn't proof-read for content or accuracy, it's very easy for misinformation to make its way to nearly 2 million Oregonians.
You can get into the pamphlet easily by paying for it, or getting 500 signatures.