How to Vote in the Oregon May 2020 Primary Election: NAVs have Limited Voting Rights

If you want to vote for a Presidential candidate in the Oregon Primary election on May 19, 2020, you must be registered by the April 28, 2020, deadline as a member of the same political party as your candidate of choice.

Visit your county Election Office, fill out an official Election Office voter registration form, or register online at the Oregon Secretary of State’s Election Office website.

NAVs (non-affiliated voters) cannot vote for a Party’s candidate. You must register with a Political arty in order to vote for that Party’s candidate in the Primary election.

Oregon does not have a Open Primary, although political parties could choose to open up  their primaries, e.g. the Independent Party of Oregon has done this. (But unless your candidate of choice appears on that party’s ballot, you still cannot vote for your candidate of choice. And non-partisan elections are a different animal altogether.)

Remember: If you are registered as a NAV (non-affiliated voter), either through the Motor Voter method or directly, you must update your registration if you want to vote in the Primary for a Party’s candidate.

Again: you cannot vote for a D or an R Presidential candidate if you are not also registered as a D or an R, in the Primary. (You can in the General Election in November 2020.) You will not get a ballot if you aren’t registered as a Party member.

Please pass along the above information: It will be too late once the ballots are mailed and definitely once the April 28, 2020, deadline has passed.