What to expect
On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, the Oregon primary elections will be held.
Primary elections are how political parties elect their candidate who will represent their party in the November general elections, which happen at the national, state, and local levels. This includes candidates for positions of President, the Senate, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Attorney general and others, in addition to potential ballot measures.
There are two types of primaries a party may choose to hold: open and closed. An open primary is open to all voters, regardless of party affiliation. If a primary is closed, then only voters registered with the party will be able to vote in that party’s primaries.
In Oregon, the two major parties, Democratic and Republican, have chosen to hold closed primaries. This means that only registered democrats can vote in the democratic primary and only registered republicans can vote in the republican primary.
Final results from these primary elections will be certified on June 25, 2026.
Registration
In 2016, Oregon passed a voter registration law called the Oregon Motor Voter. Those who have had a “qualifying interaction” at a DMV will receive an Oregon Motor Voter card. A qualifying interaction includes an over-16-year-old US citizen and Oregon resident visiting an Oregon DMV to apply, renew, or replace a driver’s license, permit, or ID card.
From here, you can choose to do one of three things: do nothing, which will result in you being registered as a nonaffiliated voter, fill out the card and join a political party, or opt not to be a registered voter. Once the card is delivered, you have 21 days to return the card to the affiliate with a party, but there is no deadline on when it has to be returned if you are opting out of registration.
You can also register to vote online at the Oregon Secretary of State website, oregonvotes.gov/myvote. Here, voters can also check or change their party affiliation, update their information, track ballots and more. You can register to vote in Oregon when you’re 16; you don’t need to wait until you’re 18. Even if you can’t vote yet, registering still makes a difference. Communities with higher registration rates garner more attention from candidates and officials.
Paper registration is another option for voters. This can be done by filling out a Voter Registration Form, which can be found in local post offices and libraries, and turning it in at a local county elections office.
April 28 at 11:59 p.m., 21 days before the election, is the last day to register to vote or change party affiliations.
Voting
In Oregon, vote-by-mail is the primary voting method. All registered voters will receive a ballot about two weeks before the election date.
Voters can mail their ballot or drop it off at an official Ballot Drop site. Ballot drop boxes can be found using the online Oregon Drop Box Locator from the Oregon Secretary of State, which is available 20 days before the election. Drop boxes are places where voters can return their mail/absentee ballots directly, without mailing them. Ballots must be received or mailed by 8 p.m. on election day.
