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As a presidential order targeting mail-in voting plays out in the courts, Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read made an extraordinary recommendation Sept. 8: Voters should submit their ballots at authorized drop boxes this midterm election rather than using the mail.
Read appeared at a press conference alongside the governor and Oregon’s U.S. senators, saying, “We will continue doing everything we can to hold the Postal Service accountable.”
Read is scheduled to testify Tuesday afternoon to a legislative Ways and Means subcommittee, where he’ll ask for $1.25 million in emergency funds for 20 additional drop boxes and to deploy BallotTrax ballot tracking software statewide (ballot tracking is currently used in five Oregon counties, including Multnomah).
Read said cuts at the Postal Service have meant ballots now take longer to process. New data shows county clerks have rejected an increasing number of late-postmarked ballots since 2022.
While expressing confidence in Oregon’s system, Read advised voters who plan to use the mail to submit their ballots at least a week early.
At the moment, Trump’s executive order is blocked by a judge’s preliminary injunction. Some legal observers predict the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the merits of Trump’s order prior to Election Day, which is 56 days away.
