Notice of Temporary Administrative Order
OAR 165-007-0550

Procedure for Reporting Elections Results

The Election Division hereby provides notice of rulemaking activity for OAR 165-007-0550. More information may be found below and on our website.

This temporary rule went into effect September 28, 2026.

RULE TEXT: The rule text may be found at this link.

RULE SUMMARY: 

The proposed rule outlines the procedure for reporting the status of the tally of ballots received on and after election day. The rule sets forth the method and timeline by which county elections officials must report information to the Secretary of State and the public.

NEED FOR TEMPORARY RULE:

The changes to this rule are needed to ensure that the designated state website for unofficial election results is an accurate, up-to-date, and useful public resource in advance of the November 2026 general election.

First, the changes to this rule would exempt local contests that are subject to ranked-choice voting (“RCV”) from the requirement that counties report results for statewide elections on the designated state website. Instead, counties could request, in writing, that the designated state website redirect the public to a county website that reflects the results for one or more RCV contests. These changes are needed because the designated state website is not currently capable of posting round-by-round tabulation results for RCV contests.

Additionally, the changes to this rule would require counties to provide the source of their Active Registrants Total (“ART”) each time an updated ART appears on the designated state website, as well as authorize the Elections Division to override a county’s ART on the designated state website in limited circumstances. Counties would continue to derive their ART from the Oregon Centralized Voter Registration (“OCVR”) system as they do now. These changes are needed to ensure consistent representation of each county’s ART across the Elections Division’s various publications.

Further, the changes to this rule would clarify and simplify the testing of the designated state website in advance of an election. The changes would allow counties to satisfy testing requirements using sources other than their logic and accuracy test(s), mandate earlier completion of the second test, require that testing results be reported to the state, and eliminate the requirement to clear test results. These changes are needed because the existing requirements pose an undue burden on county elections officials with no benefit to the functionality of the designated state website.

Finally, this rule is needed to ensure consistent statewide reporting of all ballot envelopes received after the Election Day deadline, including those with timely postmarks that arrive too late to be counted. Collecting this information would allow the Elections Division to monitor compliance with postmark and receipt deadlines, evaluate how the postmark law is functioning, identify patterns in ballot acceptance and rejection, and support clear, transparent statewide reporting.

JUSTIFICATION FOR TEMPORARY RULE:

The Secretary of State, Elections Division, finds that the failure to act promptly will result in serious prejudice to the public interest.

For statewide elections, including the upcoming general election in November 2026, counties are required to report results on a designated state website. But one or more Oregon counties will have one or more local contests on the ballot that are subject to RCV, and the designated state website is not currently capable of posting round-by-round tabulation results for RCV contests. If the temporary changes are not in place before the November 2026 election, then these counties will be in technical violation of the rule, and there will not be a uniform method for reporting the results of RCV contests to the public.

Additionally, the existing practice used to identify a county’s ART for election reporting purposes has been a source of confusion for the public. The OCVR system always contains the current and accurate ART, but the timing and method by which the ART is identified can create what appears to be variation between various Elections Division publications. This rule would improve public understanding by ensuring consistent representation of each county’s ART across publications. If these temporary changes are not in place before the November 2026 election, these variations will continue to create confusion, and the Elections Division will not have an opportunity to gather information to inform a permanent rule.

Further, the existing rule creates obstacles for counties, and provides limited benefit to the state, when it comes to testing the designated state website. Requiring the use of public certification test results as the sole source for test data has repeatedly caused delays, contributed to county noncompliance, and offers no discernible advantage over other available test result sources. Additionally, the requirement to clear test results prevents neighboring counties and the Elections Division from reviewing the content of multi county and statewide contests. If these temporary changes are not implemented before the November 2026 election, the existing rule will once again hinder proper testing and could lead to unacceptable issues with the designated state website.

Finally, counties are required to report some information about ballots received after Election Day in accordance with this rule, but the existing rule does not require any reporting regarding ballots with timely postmarks that arrive too late to be counted. If these temporary changes are not implemented before the November 2026 election, information about these ballots will not be required to be reported to the Elections Division, hindering the Division’s ability to monitor compliance with postmark and receipt deadlines, evaluate how the postmark law is functioning, identify patterns in ballot acceptance and rejection, and support clear, transparent statewide reporting.

DOCUMENTS RELIED UPON & WHERE THEY ARE AVAILABLE:

None.