Oregon Strives to Make Voting Accessible for All

By Andrea Meyer, AARP Oregon Government Relations Director

Voting is one of the most sacred rights we have as Americans. It lets our voice be heard and our democracy work. In Oregon, we have led the way with vote by mail, starting in 1981 when the Oregon legislature approved a test-run for local elections. In 1987 vote by mail became permanent for local elections. In 1996 we became the first state to conduct a general election to fill a federal office vacancy when Sen. Ron Wyden was elected to replace Sen. Bob Packwood. Finally, in November 1998, we voted to expand vote by mail to both the primary and general elections by almost 70% through the initiative process.

Fast forward to 2016 when Oregon passed what is called the Oregon Motor Voter Law. Under the old system, you needed to take a separate step to register to vote at the DMV after you obtained or renewed your driver's license or identification card. This law makes voter registration automatic when you go to DMV for eligible Oregonians (over 16, an Oregon resident and United States citizen). What happens next? You will receive a mailing from the Oregon Elections Division explaining that you now have three options as a newly registered Oregon voter. If you take no action, you are registered as an unaffiliated voter (not a member of any political party). You can choose to fill out a card selecting a political party that allows you to vote in that party’s primary election. Or you can use the card to opt-out and decline to register to vote. In our last presidential election in 2016, we had over an 80% voter turnout. Thanks to automatic voter registration and vote by mail, we continue to expand voter engagement in our state.

Oregon is still leading the way when it comes to vote by mail. In 2019, we became the first state to provide postage-paid on the return ballot envelopes, no longer requiring us to figure out how many stamps to put on the envelope (especially when in some elections we have multiple pages to return). This will be our first general election with free vote by mail. One thing that Oregon continues to require, and it’s an important difference from some other states including our neighboring state of Washington, is that the election office must receive our ballot by 8 pm on election day. 

If it comes in after that, it doesn’t count.  

Even though we call it vote by mail we should almost call it vote at home. After all, although we receive our ballot in the mail (and can chose to return it by mail), we actually cast our vote at home, whether we sit around the kitchen table, at our office desk or settle in our most comfortable chair. One of the things that I most appreciate about voting at home with my ballot is reading about all the candidates and issues up for consideration before I vote. It’s hard to prepare and remember some of the detail if I have to go to a voting booth. 

When I vote, I use my dining room table and I start with my ballot, taking a look at all the races, some I didn’t even know about! Then I pull out the voter pamphlet because I can learn about each candidate. I do the same with the ballot measures, reviewing both the arguments for and the arguments against. But probably like many of you, I pull out various newspaper stories and publications I trust to read their analysis. With fewer papers weighing in, I also check out the candidate’s online website. There I can read more about them and see the full list of their supporters. We may not know the candidate but if someone we trust and like has endorsed them, that helps me decide. And I also talk to family and friends, to learn more and hear their perspective. Sometimes their insight is helpful. Other times, not so much.   

This year, I’m going to move quickly when I receive my ballot. I’m going to check out all the various materials and fill in my ballot. I want to make sure it’s in the mail early and received by the county. Since I’m moving, I updated my mailing address. When I checked, my new address was listed.  

If you want to make sure you are registered to vote and your ballot is coming to your most current address, go to the Oregon Secretary of State’s website: https://sos.oregon.gov/voting/pages/myvote.aspx?lang=en. And some counties have “track your ballot,” a free service you can sign up for to receive an email, text or phone call. In the last primary, I received notification at various stages including when my ballot was accepted for counting. I liked having that extra confirmation that my ballot was counted. 

Check out your county elections website to find out if this service is available to you. If you have any concerns about mailing your ballot, you can always return it to designated boxes set up by each county election division. 

You can call or go to their web page to find the closest return location for you.

This year we want to make sure the 50+ voters and their families are heard. Here in Oregon, we have a website devoted to issues around voting in our state. Check it out at https://states.aarp.org/oregon/election-voting-guide

The issues are too important at the state and federal level. If we make our voices heard in the election, our voices will be even more powerful when we urge those same elected officials to take action on our issues. If raising your voice after the election is important to you, then please join our efforts here at AARP Oregon. We have big dreams to build a legislative advocacy team to bring about change. We want to be a strong voice in the Oregon legislature advocating to protect against workplace age discrimination, preventing long-term care facilities from gaining new legal protections in Oregon law if they fail to protect residents during the time of COVID and much more.

You don’t have to wait for your ballot. You can take action today and become a Legislative Advocacy Volunteer to influence policy at our state legislature. Please help us make a difference.  Apply online at:  https://bit.ly/oregonadvocacy2020