New Directive Issued by Secretary Read Confirms Oregon Vote-by-Mail Elections Will Proceed as Planned

Recording of Secretary Read’s press conference about the directive available here

SALEM, OR — Today, in response to the uncertainty caused by the Supreme Court’s ruling that lifted the injunction on Executive Order 14399 (Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections), Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read issued a new directive to Oregon’s local elections officials instructing them to proceed with administering the election according to current Oregon law and reiterating election procedures and timelines.

“The purpose of this directive is to provide certainty to elections officials and voters alike. All eligible Oregonians will receive their ballots by mail for the upcoming election and should plan to return them using the mail or a secure, official drop box,” said Secretary Read in a letter accompanying the directive.

“If a later judicial decision requires immediate changes to Oregon election administration, I will provide further direction. However, we are on the eve of the first ballots for the November election being sent out to voters. Now is not the time to make major changes to how elections are run in Oregon. I will pursue all available means to protect Oregon’s gold-standard system of elections, which routinely makes us a national leader in voter participation. Our elections are secure, accurate, and fair, and we will keep them that way.”

Secretary Read held a press conference to announce the directive and answer questions. A recording of the event can be found here.

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