Oregon Public Broadcasting

Supporters of Measure 65 officially kicked off their fall campaign Wednesday.  The initiative would replace the current party-based primary system.

Instead, the two candidates who get the most votes - regardless of party - would go on to the general election.

If you are a Republican but prefer the Democrat in the race, you could vote for him or her in the primary.

The proposal isn't exactly the same as the top-two primary format that Washington voters used at the polls last month. But backers say it's very similar.

Democrat Phil Kiesling is a former Secretary of State and one of the main backers of the open primary.

Phil Kiesling: “It's going to be a very noisy election, and the other thing is we have a very confusing ballot title. The title says something like, 'Changes the nomination process for this and that,' and it sounds very bureaucratic and opaque. And we gotta make sure people connect the dots - Measure 65 is the open primary.”

Measure 65 may not get as much money, or TV ads, as some of the other ballot measures.

But there are some prominent opponents of the open primary.

They include party leaders who say the open primary limits voter choice in the general election, which is where candidates are actually elected.