Archive for the 'Special Elections' Category

Ballots Are In The Mail

Published on May 3, 2013 in Elections, Press Releases and Special Elections. 1 Comment

Voters will soon be receiving ballots for the May 21 election

SALEM — Secretary of State Kate Brown is reminding Oregon voters that ballots for the May 21 election will be mailed out starting today.

“I urge all registered Oregon voters to cast a ballot,” said Secretary Brown. “There are important local ballot measures and races for school boards, community college boards and special districts across Oregon.”

To download an audio clip of Secretary Brown, right-click and choose “save as.”

Voters who do not receive their ballot by Wednesday, May 8, should go to My Vote to see if their ballots have been mailed. Otherwise, voters should call their county elections office.

Ballot measures to be decided in the May 21 election include proposals to ban retail single-use plastic bags in Newport, an $82 million school serial levy in Beaverton and a $18.3 million measure to fund 9-1-1 services in Deschutes County.

Contested school district races will be decided from Lake Oswego and Forest Grove to Medord, Bend and Lincoln County.

Contested special district races include the Corbett Fire District, the Bend Metro Park and Recreation District and the Port of Newport.

Contested community college board races range from Portland to Central Oregon to the Rogue Valley.

Ballots must be received by county elections officials no later than 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21.

 

For more information, contact:

Tony Green
Director of Communications
Oregon Secretary of State
503-507-0082
tony.green@state.or.us

Bing Video: Oregon makes voting accessible with iPad

Published on November 20, 2011 in Elections, Headlines, Secretary Brown, Special Elections and Special Primary. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

MSNBC featured the success of Oregon’s pilot program making iPads accessible to voters with disabilities in the first congressional district. Oregon Secretary Kate Brown and Lori Steele, Chairman and CEO of Everyone Counts, Inc were both interviewed by MSNBC’s Craig Melvin.

Secretary Brown shared her optimism about the pilot and explained that the second phase will kick off in January with the General Election. After the General election, officials will gather information from those who used the iPad - disability groups and county elections crews - to decide if the technology will be implemented statewide.

Watch the video: Oregon tests voting by iPad

Sec Brown Launches Pilot to Make Voting More Accessible

Published on November 2, 2011 in Elections, Headlines, Press Releases, Road Trips, Secretary Brown, Special Elections, Special Primary and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .
County Clerk Maeve Grimes exploring voting assistive device with Sec Brown

County Clerk Maeve Grimes exploring voting assistive device with Secretary Brown

On Tuesday, Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown concluded her tour of all five Oregon counties taking part in the November 8 special primary election. These five counties are part of a pilot project lead by the Secretary of State’s Elections Division. With a goal of making voting more accessible to those with disabilities, each of the counties were given a portable computer or iPad. The applications available on the iPad can assist Oregon voters with limited visibility or other issues causing them difficulty filling out their mail-in ballots.

In Washington County, Deborah Houghton a resident at an assisted living facility found the iPad helpful because she couldn’t read the fine print on her ballot. Members of Washington County’s Voter Assistance Team brought the iPad to Deborah. Using the screen to make the print larger Deborah was able to read the voter’s guide and the ballot for herself and vote. “This is so much better,” said Deborah. “I’ll be back in January to use the iPad again.”

If the pilot proves successful, the state elections office will make iPad’s available to all 36 counties. “I won my first race for the Oregon House of Representatives by seven votes,” said Secretary Brown. “I know how important every vote is and as your Secretary of State I am working hard to make voting more accessible to all eligible Oregonians

Andrea Cantu-Schomus
Communications Director
Oregon Secretary of State
andrea.l.cantu-schomus@state.or.us
503-986-2368
503-507-0082

13 Candidates File for 1st Congressional District Special Primary

Published on August 16, 2011 in Elections, Headlines, Press Releases, Secretary Brown, Special Elections and Special Primary. 0 Comments

The Oregon Secretary of State reports that thirteen candidates filed by the Monday, August 15 deadline to run in the First Congressional District Special Primary. The candidates of record are eight Democrats – Saba Ahmed, Brad Avakian, Suzanne Bonamici, Dominic Hammon, Robert E. Lettin, Todd Lee Ritter, Dan Strite and Brad Witt, and five Republicans – Rob Cornilles, Pavel Goberman, Jim Greenfield, Lisa Michaels, DR Delgado-Morgan,

Candidate filing information is available online. Please check the Candidate Filing Search Results in the ORESTAR database on the Oregon Secretary of State website.

For more information, please contact

Andrea L. Cantu-Schomus
Communications Director, Oregon Secretary of State

andrea.l.cantu-schomus@state.or.us

503-986-2368
503-507-0082