Oregon Vote-by-Mail Facts: November 3, 2026 General Election

Supreme Court Action (Monday, Sep. 14): The Supreme Court declined to grant the Trump administration's request to stay lower court decisions that blocked proposed USPS ballot-handling regulations. These regulations will not take effect for the 2026 election, and United States Postal Service (USPS) ballot processing operations will remain unchanged from previous election cycles.
Key Takeaway: No new limitations on Vote-by-Mail are in effect.

Voting by mail remains a safe and reliable option. Voters can expect to receive their ballots by mail as usual and can return them to any Official Ballot Drop Site in Oregon or by mail.
Currently, nothing changes for voters.
Clerk McMullen and Clackamas County Elections remain focused on administering the November 3, 2026 General Election in accordance with Oregon law and ensuring every eligible citizen can register to vote and can confidently cast their ballot.

Nothing is changing for Oregon voters for the November 3, 2026 General Election.
Ongoing court cases related to the March 2026 executive order still need to be decided. We are closely tracking developments and will provide updates as we learn more.

Oregon’s gold standard vote-by-mail elections are secure, accurate, and fair.
We’ve been perfecting this system for decades and use many different methods to protect the integrity of our elections, including:
- Barcodes to track ballots and make sure no one votes more than once,
- signature verification of every returned ballot envelope,
- paper ballots that cannot be hacked, and
- vote-tabulation systems that are thoroughly and publicly tested before and after the election and are never connected to the internet or any other network.
Claims about widespread voter fraud have been repeatedly debunked. In Oregon, a study determined there were 38 cases of improper voting over two decades and more than 60 million ballots cast.

Make a Plan to Vote! Being prepared is the first step.
Check and update your voter registration information at OregonVotes.gov. Making sure your registration information is up to date leads to faster ballot delivery. The voter registration deadline for this election is Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Be ready to vote and return your ballot as soon as possible. Voters’ pamphlets will be mailed to every household starting Oct. 6. Ballots will be mailed to voters starting Wednesday, Oct. 14. If you do not receive your ballot by Oct. 22 contact Clackamas County Elections.
Decide how you want to return your ballot. We recommend returning your ballot to an Official Ballot Drop Site. Clackamas County Elections has 26 Official Ballot Drop Sites throughout the county. If you wish to mail your ballot, do so no later than Tuesday, Oct. 27 — one week before Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026.

Again, there are no Vote-by-Mail restrictions in Clackamas County or Oregon.
On Aug. 25, Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read issued a directive that requires all Oregon counties to continue to adhere to all ballot issuance timelines, mailing deadlines, and USPS delivery requirements outlined in Oregon law.
In accordance with this directive, we are adhering to Oregon law, which requires that ballots be mailed to voters by specific dates (outlined below).
If any future judicial decisions require changes, the Oregon Secretary of State will provide additional direction to counties. Clerk McMullen and Clackamas County Elections are prepared to implement any new rules or procedures.

September 19, 2026 - Deadline to mail ballots to military and overseas voters
October 5, 2026 - First day to mail ballots to voters with a non-Oregon mailing address
October 14, 2026 - First day to mail ballots to all other voters
October 27, 2026 – Recommended last day to mail your ballot if returning your ballot by mail
October 29, 2026 - Last day Clackamas County will mail absentee, reissued, or replacement ballots
November 3, 2026 – Deadline to mail and postmark your ballot if returning your ballot by mail

Information last updated Sep. 17, 2026.