General Information: Guidelines for Required Information on SEL 101 (ORS 249.031)

On the Filing of Candidacy for Major Political Party form, SEL 101, information in the fields for “occupation,” “occupational background,” “educational background” and “prior governmental experience” are required and must be accurate. The statements made in these fields are subject to ORS 260.715(1), which states, “No person shall knowingly make a false statement, oath or affidavit where a statement, oath or affidavit is required under the election laws.” A false statement may be enforced as a Class C Felony.

The purpose of these guidelines is to assist the candidate in completing the required fields. A variation not addressed here does not necessarily indicate an election law violation. The main principle is that all information provided is accurate and can be substantiated by the candidate should a complaint be filed.

The following are some suggestions for completing the Occupation category:

Include current full or part-time employment or other line of work, business, craft or professional information (not required to indicate whether paid or unpaid).
There is no required amount of time spent at an occupation in order to include it.
It is not required that every occupational experience is included, but what is listed must be accurate.
If there is no relevant information, the candidate must at least list “None,” although it is advisable to provide a description such as, “retired,” “unemployed,” “student,” “homemaker,” etc.
It is advisable to convey the nature of the work performed rather than only a generic description (such as, “self-employed writer,” rather than only “self-employed” or “Grocery Store Manager,” rather than only “Manager”).
Caution is advised in listing an occupation title that is regulated and requires a specific license, permit or degree, unless the license, permit or degree has already been obtained and is currently valid (for example, “Attorney,” “Doctor of Chiropractic,” “Paramedic”).

The following are some suggestions for completing the Occupational Background category:

Include previous full or part-time employment or other line of work, business, craft or professional information (not required to indicate whether paid or not paid).
It is not required for the candidate to go back to their first occupational experience.
There is no required amount of time spent at an occupation in order to include it.
It is not required that every occupational experience is included, but what is listed must be accurate.
If there is no relevant information, the candidate must at least list “None,” although it is advisable to provide a description such as, “retired,” “unemployed,” “student,” “homemaker,” etc.
It is advisable to convey the nature of the work performed rather than only a generic description (such as, “self-employed writer,” rather than only “self-employed” or “Grocery Store Manager,” rather than only “Manager”).
Caution is advised in listing an occupation title that is regulated and requires a specific license, permit or degree, unless the license, permit or degree was obtained (for example, “Attorney,” “Doctor of Chiropractic,” “Paramedic”).

The following are some suggestions for completing the Educational Background category:

It is advisable to include the complete name of a school rather than only acronyms.
If a school’s name has changed since attendance, it is advisable that both the old and new names are included.
It is not required for the candidate to go back to their first educational experience (such as school attended in Kindergarten or Grade School).
It is not required that every educational experience is included, but what is listed must be accurate.
Do not indicate a diploma, degree or certificate unless it has already been obtained.
A “degree” indicates a college, university or professional school has conferred a title upon the person upon completion of a program of study.

The following are some suggestions for completing the Prior Governmental Experience category:

Include current and previous governmental experience, which refers to a person’s involvement in governmental activities, such as appointed boards and commissions, elected boards and other elected or appointed public offices.
Full or part-time, paid or unpaid or volunteer experience may be included (not required to indicate whether paid or not paid).
It is not required for the candidate to go back to their first governmental experience.
There is no required amount of time spent at an experience in order to include it.
It is not required to list every governmental experience, but what is listed must be accurate.
If there is no relevant information, the candidate must at least list “None.”
Include the complete name of the position - the use of acronyms is not advised.

previous page | next page

Download entire manual as a .pdf