Student Voting Guide | Oregon
Registration
http://www.oregonvotes.org/ (registration form available online)
https://secure.sos.state.or.us/eim/vr/register.do?lang=eng (online registration)
You must register at least 21 days before Election Day.[1] Mail-in registration cards must be postmarked by that date.[2] Oregon allows preregistration, which means you may register to vote when you are 17 years old.[3] Oregon also allows online voter registration by the above deadline; however, if your name has changed, you must print out a registration form so that the state can record your new signature.
Residency
At School. Students who attend school in Oregon may register and vote at their school address if they reside in and attend school in Oregon and have the intent to make Oregon their current home, regardless of their future plans.[4] You do not have to intend to remain in Oregon after graduation.[5] Your residence for voting should be your fixed home, the place you regularly come back to after being away.[6]
At Home. Students who lived in Oregon before moving elsewhere to attend school, and who wish to establish or keep their Oregon voting residency (i.e., at their parents’ Oregon address), should have no problem doing so unless they have already registered to vote in another state. Like all states, Oregon allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the district to attend school, and the only way you will lose this residency is by establishing residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered abandonment of residency in Oregon, some judges or officials might view it as such. Casting a ballot in another state will definitely be considered an abandonment of your Oregon residency,[7] so students who have voted in another state will have to re-establish Oregon residency if they wish to vote there.
Challenges to Residency. Local election officials should not question the residency you claim when registering to vote.[8] However, if a local official has evidence that you are not a resident, that official can reject your voter registration application.[9] You have the right to request a hearing from the county clerk and present evidence on your behalf if your registration is denied.[10] The clerk can also question your registration after it is accepted; the clerk must give you notice and hold a hearing before cancelling your registration.[11]
Your ballot can also be challenged on the basis of residency before it is opened and counted by elections officials or voters.[12] Your challenged ballot will be reviewed by the county clerk, who decides whether you are validly registered and if your vote was properly cast.[13]
Identification
Only first-time voters who register by mail and whose identifying numbers (Oregon driver’s license or state ID card number or the last four digits of a Social Security number) cannot be verified by the state will have to show ID. Because Oregon is a vote-by-mail state, voters will have to submit a copy of their identification with their registration form or with their mail-in ballot, or any time before the ballots are mailed; otherwise, they will be sent a provisional vote-by-mail ballot.[14] The provisional ballot will be counted for all state and local races, but will be counted for federal races only if the voter submits a copy of their identification within 13 days of returning their ballot.[15] Acceptable identification includes a copy of any of the following: current and valid photo ID or any of the following with your name and residence address: paycheck stub, utility bill, bank statement, or any government document.[16] You can show a student photo ID, and you can likely show a cellular phone bill.[17]
Voting by Mail
All Oregon voters vote by mail, so there is no need to specially request an absentee ballot.[18] However, ballots are mailed to every registered voter 14 to 18 days before Election Day[19] and the post office will not forward your ballot to you, so it is really important to make sure the county elections office has your correct mailing address each time there is an election.[20] If the mailing address on your registration is out of state, the clerk can mail your ballot as early as 29 days before the election.[21]
You can return your ballot by mail, in person at any county election office, or by dropping it at an official ballot dropsite.[22] Your ballot must be received by a county election office or dropped at a dropsite by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.[23] Your ballot does not have to be witnessed.
Last Updated in April 2010
[1] Or. Rev. Stat. § 247.025(1).
[2] Or. Rev. Stat. § 247.025(2).
[3] Or. Rev. Stat. § 247.016.
[4] 35 Op. Atty Gen. 933. (Or. 1971).
[5] 35 Op. Atty Gen. 933. (Or. 1971).
[6] Or. Rev. Stat. § 247.035(1)(a) (West 2009).
[7] Or. Rev. Stat. § 247.035(1)(e).
[8] 35 Op. Atty Gen. 933. (Or. 1971).
[9] Or. Rev. Stat. § 247.174(2) (West 2009).
[10] Or. Rev. Stat. § 247.174(3).
[11] Or. Rev. Stat. § 247.195.
[12] Or. Rev. Stat. § 254.415(1), (3).
[13] Or. Rev. Stat. § 254.426(2).
[14] Justin Levitt et. al, “Making the List: Database Matching and Verification Processes for Voter Registration,” available at http://brennan.3cdn.net/96ee05284dfb6a6d5d_j4m6b1cjs.pdf (last visited on April 23, 2010).
[15] Id.
[16] Id.
[17] Id.
[18] Or. Rev. Stat. § 254.465 (West 2009).
[19] Or. Rev. Stat. § 254.470(2)(a).
[20] Or. Rev. Stat. § 254.470(2)(a).
[21] Or. Rev. Stat. § 254.470(2)(c).
[22] Or. Rev. Stat. § 254.470(6).
[23] Or. Rev. Stat. § 254.470(1).
