Voting in Oregon
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Contents
Voting policies are enacted and enforced primarily at the state level. These policies, which include voter identification requirements, early voting provisions, online voter registration systems, and more, dictate the conditions under which American citizens cast their ballots in their individual states.
This page includes the following:
- Voter registration details, including methods of registering and requirements
- Details on voting in elections, including identification requirements, poll times, and primary election type
- Absentee and early voting rules
- Convicted felons' voting rights
- Election administration costs report
- Election agencies list
- Election policy ballot measures list
- Election policy legislation list
Voter registration
To register to vote in Oregon, one must be a resident of Oregon, a United States citizen, and at least 16 years old. Voters must be at least 18 years old by the day of the election in order to receive a ballot.[1] Prospective voters can register online, in person at a county elections office, or by mailing in a voter registration form. The deadline to register is 21 days before an election.[1]
Automatic registration
Oregon implemented automatic voter registration in 2016. For more information, click here.
Online registration
- See also: Online voter registration
Oregon has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.
Same-day registration
Oregon does not allow same-day voter registration.
Residency requirements
To register to vote in Oregon, you must be a resident of the state.
Verification of citizenship
Oregon does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration.
Verifying your registration
The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.
Voting in elections
Voter identification
- See also: Voter identification laws by state
Oregon is a vote-by-mail state. When registering to vote, a voter must provide his or her driver's license or state ID card number.[2]
Background
As of April 2021, 35 states enforced (or were scheduled to begin enforcing) voter identification requirements. A total of 21 states required voters to present photo identification at the polls; the remainder accepted other forms of identification. Valid forms of identification differ by state. Commonly accepted forms of ID include driver's licenses, state-issued identification cards, and military identification cards.[3][4]
Poll times
- See also: State poll opening and closing times
Oregon is an elections-by-mail state. A voter can still vote on Election Day at his or her local municipal clerk's office, however, between 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Time.[5]
Primary election type
- See also: Primary elections in Oklahoma
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Oregon generally utilizes a closed primary process. The selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members for presidential and legislative elections. However, the Oregon Republican Party voted to open the Republican primary to unaffiliated voters for the offices of secretary of state, attorney general, and treasurer.[6][7][8][9]
Absentee and early voting
- See also: Absentee voting and Early voting
Oregon exclusively uses a vote-by-mail system. As such, there is no need for explicit absentee or early voting procedures.[10]
Convicted felons' voting rights
- See also: Voting rights for convicted felons
In Oregon, those convicted of a felony automatically regain their right to vote upon completion of their incarceration.
Voting rights for convicted felons vary from state to state. In the majority of states, convicted felons cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[11][12][13]
Election administration costs
National Conference of State Legislatures report, 2018
On February 14, 2018, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released a report on the costs of election administration in the states: "The Price of Democracy: Splitting the Bill for Elections." The report's authors noted that "no one knows how much [states] spend on elections ... [because] good research on election costs is slim." Generally, local units of government (most often counties, but sometimes cities and towns) are primarily responsible for election administration costs, though states and the federal government may also contribute. The report identified the states listed in the table below as assuming financial responsibility for at least some aspects of election administration.[14]
To access the complete NCSL report, click here.
| Election administration costs assumed by state | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State pays all expenses for federal or state elections | State bears a portion of election costs | State pays for statewide special elections or statewide elections that don’t coincide with regularly scheduled elections | State pays for primary elections (statewide, presidential, or both) |
| Alaska Delaware |
Alabama Colorado Hawaii Kentucky Louisiana Rhode Island |
Arkansas Florida Iowa Michigan Missouri New Jersey North Dakota Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Tennessee Washington West Virginia |
Arizona Arkansas Idaho Kansas Michigan Minnesota Missouri South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington |
| Note: If a state is not listed above, it was not included in the report. Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, "The Price of Democracy: Splitting the Bill for Elections," February 14, 2018 | |||
Noteworthy events
2013
In 2013, the Oregon State Legislature considered a bill that would have permitted automatic voter registration. The bill passed the House but did not receive a vote in the Senate. The process would have required the Department of Motor Vehicles to send information on licensed drivers to the Secretary of State. Those that met the legal requirements to vote and were not already registered would have been added to the system. As Oregon uses a vote-by-mail system, most residents would have then automatically received a ballot in their mailboxes.[15]
Election agencies
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about voting provisions in Oregon can contact the following state and federal agencies.
Oregon Secretary of State, Elections Division
- 255 Capitol Street NE, Suite 501
- Salem, Oregon 97310-1306
- Phone: 503-986-1518
- Email: elections.sos@state.or.us
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
- 1335 East West Highway, Suite 4300
- Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
- Telephone: 866-747-1471
Election policy ballot measures
Ballotpedia has tracked the following ballot measures relating to election and campaign policy in Oregon.
- Oregon Alternative Methods for Electing Officials, Measure 15 (June 1908)
- Oregon Appointment and Election of Judges, Measure 1 (1978)
- Oregon Ballot Measure 40, Election of Judges by District (2006)
- Oregon Ballot Measure 405 (2008)
- Oregon Ballot Measure 46, Regulation of Campaign Contributions (2006)
- Oregon Ballot Measure 47, Revision of Campaign Finance Laws (2006)
- Oregon Campaign Contributions, Finance and Spending Limits, Measure 9 (1994)
- Oregon Campaign Finance and Signature Gathering Regulation, Measure 62 (1998)
- Oregon Campaign Rules and Regulations, Measure 16 (June 1908)
- Oregon Candidates to Receive Contributions from Residents Only, Measure 6 (1994)
- Oregon Deadline for Filling Vacancies at General Election, Measure 3 (1994)
- Oregon Deceased Candidate Procedure Measure 31 (2004)
- Oregon Election of Primary Delegates, Measure 28 (1914)
- Oregon Elections for School District Operating Levies, Measure 1 (May 1977)
- Oregon Elections to Fill Office Vacancies, Measure 9 (1926)
- Oregon Elimination of Voter Turnout Requirement for Property Tax Measures, Measure 53 (May 1998)
- Oregon General Biennial Elections from June to November, Measure 4 (June 1908)
- Oregon Increasing Direct Democracy and Electoral Reform, Measure 31 (1910)
- Oregon Initiative 38 (2006)
- Oregon Judicial Districts and Elections, Measure 22 (2002)
- Oregon Judicial Vacancies and Elections, Measure 21 (2002)
- Oregon Legislators' Terms Begin at Start of Legislative Session, Measure 1 (1960)
- Oregon Length of Legislative Term, Measure 7 (1952)
- Oregon Measure 107, Campaign Finance Limits Amendment (2020)
- Oregon No Public Resources To Collect Political Funds, Measure 64 (2008)
- Oregon Non-Voters as "No" Votes on Tax Measures, Measure 46 (1996)
- Oregon Number of Signatures Needed for Recall Referendum, Measure 1 (1984)
- Oregon Open Primary Initiative, Measure 90 (2014)
- Oregon Partial Public Funding of Campaigns, Measure 7 (1976)
- Oregon Presidential Primaries, Measure 29 (1910)
- Oregon Primary Elections in September, Measure 1 (January 1936)
- Oregon Primary Nominating Election, Measure 2 (June 1904)
- Oregon Primary Nominating Elections from May to September, Measure 5 (1940)
- Oregon Prohibition of Party Nominations for Judges, Measure 13 (1914)
- Oregon Prohibition of Public Resources for Political Fund Collecting, Measure 59 (1998)
- Oregon Prohibits Payroll Deductions For Political Purposes, Measure 92 (2000)
- Oregon Prohibits Using Public Resources For Political Purposes, Measure 98 (2000)
- Oregon Property Tax Elections Amendment, Measure 56 (2008)
- Oregon Proportional Representation, Measure 25 (1914)
- Oregon Public Funding for Candidates Limiting Spending and Private Contributions, Measure 6 (2000)
- Oregon Repeal Election of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Measure 1 (1980)
- Oregon School District Election Amendment, Measure 54 (2008)
- Oregon Simultaneous Elections Throughout the State, Measure 5 (June 1917)
- Oregon Special Election for U.S. Senator Vacancy, Measure 4 (May 1986)
- Oregon State Voter Qualifications Conform with Federal Qualifications, Measure 10 (1974)
- Oregon Supermajority Proposals Require Supermajority for Passage, Measure 63 (1998)
- Oregon Synchronized City, County and State Elections, Measure 2 (1976)
- Oregon Term Lengths for Elected County Officials, Measure 5 (1920)
- Oregon Terms of Defeated Incumbents, Measure 6 (1970)
- Oregon Top Two Elections, Measure 65 (2008)
- Oregon U.S. Senate Elections, Measure 14 (June 1908)
- Oregon Vacancies in Elective Office, Measure 10 (1960)
- Oregon Voter Approval of Taxes by Certain Approval Percentage, Measure 93 (2000)
- Oregon Voter Qualifications for Presidential Elections, Measure 7 (1960)
- Oregon Voting Age for School District Elections, Measure 8 (1974)
Election policy legislation
The following is a list of recent election bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Oregon state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.
Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Oregon voting. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
Elections in Oregon
- Oregon elections, 2022
- Oregon elections, 2021
- Oregon elections, 2020
- Oregon elections, 2019
- Oregon elections, 2018
- Oregon elections, 2017
- Oregon elections, 2016
- Oregon elections, 2015
- Oregon elections, 2014
- Oregon elections, 2013
- Oregon elections, 2012
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oregon Secretary of State, "Voting in Oregon," accessed October 4, 2019
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Voting in Oregon," accessed October 7, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Voter Identification Requirements|Voter ID Laws," June 5, 2017
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Do I need an ID to vote? A look at the laws in all 50 states," October 27, 2014
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, “Voting in Oregon,” accessed October 17, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures,"State Primary Election Types," accessed October 25, 2019
- ↑ FairVote,"Primaries," accessed October 25, 2019
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State Bev Clarno,"Voting in Oregon," accessed October 25, 2019
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Learn About Vote by Mail," accessed December 16, 2013
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State Bev Clarno, "Voter Status FAQ," accessed October 20, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Felon Voting Rights," accessed July 15, 2014
- ↑ American Civil Liberties Union, "State Criminal Re-enfranchisement Laws," accessed September 13, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "The Price of Democracy: Splitting the Bill for Elections," February 14, 2018
- ↑ Argus Observer, "Oregon bill would make voter registration automatic," May 9, 2013
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