|
Oregon Voter
Registration Guidelines
By calling
1-866-ORE-VOTES (1-866-673-8683) voters will be connected to
representatives of the Secretary of State*s office who can answer
questions about voter registration, ballots and voting. Representatives
are available Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm.
Distribution
of Voter Registration cards
Voter
registration cards may be distributed in any reasonable manner that
facilitates registration, including door to door. Common techniques
include setting up a table at events or in popular places, and having
volunteers walk around with clipboards, pens, and registration cards.
While
registering voters, Oregon law prohibits:
Ø
Seeking to influence political preference or party registration.
Ø
Displaying political preference or party allegiance (such as a button).
Ø
Making statements or taking any action to discourage a person from
registering.
Ø
Making statements or taking any action the purpose or effect of which is
to lead the person to believe that registering or not registering has
any bearing on the availability of services or benefits.
Ø
Seek to induce any person to register or vote. This means that you
cannot directly pay people or offer them anything in return for their
registration. You may receive payment from Oregon Action for
registering voters, and you may call registered voters and remind them
to vote so long as you do not pay them or offer them anything in return
for voting.
Ø
Using lists of electors for commercial purposes.
Voting rights
history
African-Americans
gained the right to vote nationally in 1870 with the passage of the 15th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, preempting a clause in the Oregon
Constitution that forbade African-American voting (the clause was
repealed in 1927, but the 15th Amendment wasn’t ratified by
Oregon until 1959). Women secured the right to vote in Oregon by
initiative in 1912, and nationally in 1920 with the passage of the 19th
Amendment. The age of eligibility to vote was dropped from 21 to 18 in
1971 with the passage of the 26th Amendment (in 1970 and 1972
there were state initiatives to drop the age to 19 – neither passed).
The federal Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965, further safeguards the
equal rights of all Americans to participate in our electoral system.
These hard-won rights are valuable only if citizens use them – thank you
for registering voters in Oregon!
1. Who can
register?
There are only
three requirements. You may register to vote if you are:
·
A
resident of Oregon;
·
A
United States citizen; and
·
17
years or older. If you are 17 years of age, you will not receive a
ballot until an election occurs on or after your 18th birthday.
2. How do I
register to vote?
You may register to vote by filling out a registration form, available
online or in person at your county elections office or the Secretary
of State’s Elections Division. Any person may request delivery of up to
5,000 voter registration cards from the Secretary of State in any year.
Registration
cards must be returned to the county elections office of the county in
which the registrant resides within five (5) days of the date the card
is signed.
If registration
cards are to be mailed, they must include a copy of the registrant’s
identification. Valid forms of identification include a copy of current
government photo identification, or a copy of a paycheck stub, utility
bill, bank statement, or government document showing your name and
address.
If registration
cards are to be dropped off in person, a copy of identification is not
required.
3. When may I
register to vote?
You may register
at any time. In order to vote in the next election, your registration
card must be postmarked at least 21 days before the next election. If
you are turning in someone else's registration card (for example, if you
conducted a voter registration drive), then the card must be turned in
within 5 days of the date the card was signed.
4. How do I
know if I am a registered voter?
County elections offices maintain all voter registration records. Upon
receiving a new voter registration card, the county elections office
will send a postcard to the registrant verifying that they are
registered. To check if you are registered, contact your county
elections office.
5. When do I
have to re-register or update my registration?
You must re-register to vote every time your address changes, your name
changes, or if you wish to change your party affiliation. You may wish
to re-register if your handwriting changes significantly, in order to
ensure that the signature on your ballot return envelope will match the
signature on your voter registration card.
6. What will
the state do with my voter registration information?
The state will use your registration
information to mail you a ballot, and to check the signature on your
ballot return envelope against the signature on your registration card.
The state will keep a record of whether you voted (see # 14). The state
will not keep a record of how you voted, and will not sell your
information, give it to any other government agency or entity, or use it
for any commercial or improper purposes. Political parties will
have access to registered voter information.
7. When is the
next election?
For 2008, the remaining local elections dates are:
Ø
May
20, 2008 (statewide primary election – April 29th is last day
to register to vote in primary)
Ø
September 16, 2008 (local elections)
Ø
November 4, 2008 (statewide general election – October 14th
is last day to register to vote in general election.)
8. When will
ballots be mailed?
Ballots are mailed between the 18th and 14th day before the election.
9. I will be
out of town during the election, how do I get a ballot?
Oregon's vote-by-mail system makes voting easier than ever. If you are
living away from your permanent address, then you can still vote in
Oregon elections via absentee ballot. You may request an early absentee
ballot from your county elections official either in person, by mail,
email, or by fax. Be sure to include your name, residence address and,
if different, your mailing address in a request for an absentee ballot.
Absentee ballots are available 45 days before any election.
10. May I vote
if I am in prison or if I have a felony conviction?
You may not vote while you are in prison, but you become eligible to
vote on the day you get out of prison, regardless of whether your
conviction was for a felony or a misdemeanor.
11. When and
where do I vote?
You may mail your ballot, or drop it off at your county elections office
or a county drop site. Your vote-by-mail ballot must be received by your
county elections office by election day - postmarks do not count. County
elections offices are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day, and
drop boxes will be located around your community.
12. What if I
make a mistake on my ballot?
Your county elections office can provide you with a replacement ballot.
They will mail one to you if there is enough time before election day,
or you may pick it up in person.
13. Can I
change my mind after I mail my ballot?
No. Your ballot is cast as soon as you put it in a mailbox or drop box.
After that you may not receive a replacement ballot.
14. How do I
know if my ballot is received?
You can call your county elections office to find out if they received
your ballot. A record is kept showing each voter whose ballot has been
returned.
15. Can anyone
find out how I voted?
No. Ballots are separated from the return envelope before they are
counted, and this protects your confidentiality. The state keeps a
record of who voted (see # 6 and # 14), but not how they
voted.
16. Is there a
risk of fraud or identity theft?
There have been very few instances of fraud since Oregon began
conducting elections with vote-by-mail. Each return envelope requires
the voter's signature, and this signature is checked against the
signature on file on the voters' registration card. Because of
vote-by-mail, Oregon avoids many of the problems of polling place
elections. The state will keep a record of your name, address, and
whether you voted, but your privacy will be protected (see # 6).
17. Does
Oregon use touch screen voting machines?
We will be purchasing touch screen voting machines in 2006 in order to
make it easier for disabled voters to vote with privacy. Each county
will have two machines as an option for voters, and each machine will
produce a paper record of the votes cast in case a recount is required.
Click here to read more about touch screens in Oregon.
18. I am
disabled and need help filling out my ballot, what should I do?
Contact your county elections office. They can help you find local
disability resources or they can send two people (one from each major
political party) to help you fill out your ballot.
19. Who are my
legislators or representatives? What district do I live in?
You are represented by federal and state legislators, each of whom
represent all of the people who live in a defined geographic area of the
state called a district. You may look up your federal and state
representatives on the Oregon State Legislature website, or on the
Project Vote Smart website. Just fill your address into the form, and
the result will list your representatives' names, their party
affiliation and the district number they represent.
20. Do I have
to register by party?
No, just check the box that says "Not a member of a party." But only
those registered in a political party may vote in that party's primary
election.
21. What is a
primary election?
Major political parties nominate their candidates at a primary election,
which is held on the third Tuesday in May of each even numbered year.
Only a voter who is registered as a member of a political party may vote
in that party's primary election. After the parties nominate their
candidates in the primary election, the nominees run against each other
in the general election.
22. What is
the Voters' Pamphlet?
The
Voters' Pamphlet is a compilation of arguments for or against ballot
measures, and statements of candidates. The Secretary of State's
Elections Division and the County Elections office each produce Voters'
Pamphlets before every election. The state's Voters' Pamphlet is mailed
to every household in the state. You may find the measure arguments and
candidate statements printed in the Voters' Pamphlet helpful in making
informed decisions about your vote. You should be aware that measure
arguments and candidate statements in the Voters' Pamphlet are purchased
by proponents, opponents, and candidates, and they are not endorsed by
the State of Oregon. The State does not check any of the arguments or
statements for truth, accuracy, grammar, punctuation or syntax, instead
we print the arguments and statements as they are submitted by the
author. As with all political speech, you are the best judge of what and
whom to believe.
23. Does my
vote count?
Yes. In the 2002 election, in District 28 (southern Oregon), only 42
votes came between the two candidates. That means 22 votes would have
changed the outcome, and close elections like this are not unusual. All
ballots are counted on election day, and none are counted before
election day.
24. When are
election results known?
Initial unofficial results are released at 8:00 pm on election night,
and will continue to be updated until all the ballots have been counted.
Unofficial results of elections are released by each county and
statewide tallies are customarily compiled and reported by the Oregon
media. In accordance with Oregon Revised Statutes, county elections
officials have 20 days to file their official abstracts with the office
of the Secretary of State. The Secretary then has 10 days to certify the
official results. Therefore, the official results will be available from
the Secretary of State's Office no later than the 30th day after the
election.
Other
Questions:
Many of your questions can be answered by your County Elections office
or by the Secretary of State's Elections Division.
Secretary of
State Elections Division
141 State Capitol
Salem, Oregon 97310
(503) 986-1518
Fax: (503) 373-7414
TTY (503) 986-1521
|
