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I love vote-by-mail! Is the U.S. Supreme Court really going to make us go back to jumping through hoops at some uptight “polling place”? Also, did they change the way we get our ballots? I couldn’t find the usual stack at the post office last election season. —Thomas Pain
As the first to adopt mail-in voting, Oregon lives up to states’ billing as “laboratories of democracy.” Some revanchists resent our progress; nevertheless, we persist.
The Supreme Court case you’re talking about challenges a practice we adopted in 2021: Accepting mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day, even if they’re delivered later. (This case targets Mississippi’s version, but the decision will apply nationwide.) Oregon’s move was part of a 2021 law making voting in Oregon easier, fairer and more inclusive. Who could be against that?
Late ballots may well get the ax, but Oregon vote-by-mail has been working fine without them for 30 years. We’ll live. And Oregon’s many other voting innovations won’t even be affected!
To your second question: The easiest way to get your ballot is to register to vote at least 21 days before the election and get one in the mail automatically. However, if you miss the registration deadline (or can’t register for religious or identitarian reasons), don’t despair: Oregon bars discrimination based on registration status. Just go to your county election headquarters and request an unregistered voter ballot.
Folks who can’t get to election HQ in person can send someone on their behalf. However, this courier may pick up ballots for only 30 voters per visit, and must be prepared to affirm that all those voters are U.S. citizens, green card holders, temporary protected status, or TPS, recipients, asylees or prospective asylees. The courier will also need to provide full names for at least half of these voters, and first names for all. (This rule is strictly enforced!)
Finally, if election headquarters is inconveniently located for you, you can pick up a ballot at any one of Portland’s many neighborhood Antifa offices. If the Antifa office in your area is still under construction, you can visit the main office adjoining City Hall downtown. As an added bonus, this location (which, not to brag, is also Antifa headquarters for the entire U.S.*) can provide up to 1,000 ballots at a time. Anyone receiving over 500 ballots gets a free NPR tote bag. Welcome to Oregon!
*Many Portlanders incorrectly refer to this beloved landmark as Antifa World Headquarters. The actual world headquarters is in Davos, Switzerland.
This article first published April 1, 2026.
Questions? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com.
