The League has launched its Fair Campaign Practices project and is asking candidates in the Aug. 2 primary and Nov. 8 general elections to pledge to campaign on the issues and their qualifications and refrain from unfair attacks on their competitors

The League of Women Voters of Clark County is urging candidates to stay positive and truthful.

The League has launched its Fair Campaign Practices project and is asking candidates in the Aug. 2 primary and Nov. 8 general elections to pledge to campaign on the issues and their qualifications and refrain from unfair attacks on their competitors. 

“The League is dedicated to empowering voters, and asking candidates to focus on the issues and refrain from unfair attacks and distortions is one of the ways we can do this,” said President Nancy Halvorson. “Doing so will help voters immensely.”

Halvorson said campaigns and participation in candidate forums are much like job interviews. “We can liken candidates to job-seekers and the voters to hiring managers.  We should expect and count on candidates to put their best feet forward and to demonstrate what really qualifies them for the job, including their knowledge, diplomacy and passion.”

The pledge centers on four principles: 

1. Campaigning in an honorable manner
2. Refraining from unfair or misleading attacks on the character or patriotism of opponents and invasions of privacy.
3. Refraining from campaign material that distorts, misrepresents or falsifies facts about opponents
4. Repudiating support from any individual or group that violates the letter and spirit of the Code of Fair Campaign Practices.

“These are heated times today in politics,” Halvorson said. “But we can and should urge our candidates in Clark County to remain above the fray.  Voters deserve information that will help them make decisions that best serve us all.”

More than 50 candidates are vying in 19 local races in the Aug. 2 primary. In Washington, the top-two finishers in each race in the primary advance to the Nov. 8 general election.

An independent five-member panel will evaluate complaints from candidates or registered voters who believe a candidate is violating the fair-campaign pledge crafted by the League, Halvorson said.

County Auditor Greg Kimsey said ballots for the Aug. 2 election will be mailed to all registered voters in Clark County on July 15.

The deadline to register or update an existing registration online, in person, or by mail is eight days before the election. But state law permits eligible voters to register in person at the Elections Office up until 8 p.m. on Aug. 2, Election Day, said Auditor Greg Kimsey.

Details about the fair-campaign pledge are available on the League website at https://lwvclarkcounty.org/ You can also read which candidates have signed the pledge.

The League of Women Voters of Clark County is a nonpartisan, grassroots civic organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. Membership in the League is open to all. With 102 years of experience, the League is one of America’s oldest and most trusted civic nonprofit organizations.

Information provided by League of Women Voters of Clark County.