State

Oregon Secretary of State Directs Local Offices to Conduct Election as Usual

After SCOTUS gives opening to Trump on mail-in voting, Read issues election directive: ‘I will use all possible means to protect our elections.’

By Garrett Andrews
A Portland rally for mail voting and preserving the Postal Service, held in July. (Eric Shelby)

A day after the Supreme Court opened the door for the U.S. Postal Service to restrict Oregon’s vote-by-mail system, Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read ordered election offices to administer the upcoming midterm election under existing state law.

Read, a Democrat, announced a directive Tuesday that requires local officials to issue ballots according to a schedule established by statute, and to observe and report any irregularities by the U.S. Postal Service.

“I will use all possible means to protect our elections,” Read told reporters at a press conference. “All eligible Oregonians will receive their ballots by mail for the upcoming election and should plan to return them using mail or a secure, official drop box.”

In March, Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14399, which requires the Department of Homeland Security to create lists of eligible voters in each state and the U.S. Postal Service to refuse to deliver mail ballots to anyone not on the official list, among other requirements.

Trump has falsely claimed mail voting cost him the 2020 election, though he himself occasionally votes by mail.

Oregon and two dozen other states filed legal challenges against EO 14399. A federal district court judge in Massachusetts granted two injunctions that prevented USPS from implementing the order for the November election.

On Monday, the Supreme Court lifted one of those injunctions. The other, according to Read, has nationwide scope, has not been appealed, and is not affected by Monday’s ruling.

Read said future litigation on the matter is likely. If litigation is resolved in favor of the federal government, the Secretary of State’s Office will issue further direction, he said.

“While the litigation is pending, all of Oregon’s statutory requirements for conducting an election remain in effect,” reads the directive.

Oregon election law requires that ballots be mailed by specific dates. The state relies on the U.S. Postal Service to meet these deadlines:

  • Sept. 19: The deadline to mail ballots to military and overseas voters.
  • Oct. 5: The first day to mail ballots to voters with a non-Oregon mailing address who aren’t military or overseas voters.
  • Oct. 16: The first day to mail ballots to all other voters without daily mail service.
  • Oct. 20: The last day to mail all other ballots.

The directive further orders elections officials to maintain clear records to show when ballots enter the USPS system and to document any challenges by USPS staff members when delivering ballots.

Garrett Andrews

Garrett Andrews

Garrett Andrews is WW’s general assignment reporter. Over two decades as a journalist, he’s covered a hodgepodge of content areas—crime in Bend, the Roseburg art scene, Oregon’s construction industry, among others. He’s an adjunct professor of political science at Portland Community College where he teaches courses on American Government. Go Cougs.

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