Oregon voters urged to use ballot drop boxes as Trump targets mail voting - oregonlive.com

oregonlive.com · Carlos Fuentes | The Oregonian/OregonLive · September 8, 2026

# Oregon voters urged to use ballot drop boxes as Trump targets mail voting - oregonlive.com

Author: Carlos Fuentes | The Oregonian/OregonLive Published: 2026-09-08T22:46:10.803000+00:00 Source: oregonlive.com (oregonlive.com) Language: en

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Oregon voters urged to use ballot drop boxes as Trump targets mail voting - oregonlive.com

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# Oregon voters urged to use ballot drop boxes as Trump targets mail voting

- Updated: Sep. 08, 2026, 3:46 p.m. - Published: Sep. 08, 2026, 3:46 p.m.

Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read expresses confidence in Oregon's election system at a press conference on Tuesday. He was joined by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, Gov. Tina Kotek and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley.Carlos Fuentes/The Oregonian

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Skip the mailbox if you can, use a ballot drop box instead.

That’s the message from Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read two months ahead of the November election as President Donald Trump continues his attempts to restrict mail-in voting, including on Sunday with a third appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

At a press conference Tuesday, Gov. Tina Kotek and U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined Read, their fellow Democrat, in expressing confidence that Oregon’s elections will proceed as usual this fall, despite the Trump administration’s push for U.S. Postal Service guidelines that would limit mail-in voting. A federal judge blocked the rules from taking effect on Friday.

Read urged as many Oregonians as possible to return their ballots to official drop boxes to ensure they get counted, and he said that he has requested additional funding from lawmakers to pay for 20 new drop boxes in areas that his office determined would improve voter access.

“I don’t think anyone should be feeling any lack of confidence in our system because, of course, there are options,” Read said, “and that’s why we are really encouraging people to use drop boxes and trying to make those more and more convenient.”

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Read also encouraged people who must mail their ballots — or who prefer to do so — to get them in early. Individuals, he said, should mail their ballots at least one week before Election Day to ensure they get counted.

The four Democrats didn’t elaborate on how they would shield Oregon from any potential interference from the federal government come November. Oregonians, they said, will be able to vote no matter what.

“Given the way that the federal government is changing things, I don’t think it makes sense to talk about all the things that we are preparing for and talking about,” Read said. “But Oregonians should be confident they will get their ballot.”

Carlos Fuentes is the lead state government and politics reporter at The Oregonian/OregonLive. He covers the Oregon governor, lawmakers, state agencies and elections, examining how policy decisions made in... more

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