Free Talk Live

Two Oregon political parties and a state senator on Monday sued Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown over her decision to abbreviate party names on the ballot this year.

State elections officials said the three-letter abbreviations were needed because of a new state law allowing candidates to list the backing of up to three political parties next to their name on the ballot. The "fusion-voting" law was aimed at giving minor parties more clout by allowing them to cross-nominate major-party candidates who would presumably compete for their support.