Washington County's Oct. 14 ballot mailing is now protected by two federal court orders blocking President Donald Trump's restrictions on mail voting.

The county Elections Division is scheduled to mail ballots to all registered voters 20 days before the Nov. 3 general election, according to the county elections page. The ballot includes a county chair runoff between Commissioners Nafisa Fai and Pam Treece, Valley Times reported Sept. 3.

Oregon has voted entirely by mail since 2000. State elections director Dena Dawson warned in a court filing that "if technological or implementation failure prevents the delivery of mail ballots in this vote-by-mail state, Oregonians have no other means by which to cast their votes," as OPB reported Sept. 8.

Second injunction lands

U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction Sunday, Sept. 13, ordering the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) not to enforce a rule that would require states to upload voter identities to a federal portal and get ballot envelope designs pre-approved. Nichols, a Trump appointee, found the agency lacked legal authority to impose the rule, OPB reported. Mishtalk reported that Nichols wrote "no statute grants the Postal Service the power to issue key parts of the Rule."

The ruling is the second injunction in less than two weeks. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston blocked the rule Sept. 4, and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld her order Sept. 10. The three-judge appeals panel found the administration had not shown the lower court was wrong to call the rule likely unlawful.

Nichols himself had refused to block the rule in May, calling the challenge premature. After the Postal Service published its final rule Aug. 21, plaintiffs in both Boston and D.C. refiled.

The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Talwani's injunction on its emergency docket. No ruling had been issued as of Monday, Sept. 14. A decision could come any day.

Oregon's response

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield joined 23 other state attorneys general in a federal lawsuit challenging the rule, the Hillsboro News-Times reported Aug. 27.

Oregon lawmakers approved $1.25 million in emergency funding Sept. 10 for election security, OPB reported. The money pays for 20 new ballot drop boxes statewide, the BallotTrax ballot-tracking system and updated voter notification cards for inactive voters.

Secretary of State Tobias Read said at a Sept. 8 Salem press conference that "the Postal Service's job is to deliver the mail, not to decide who gets to vote." At the same press conference, Read pointed to data showing more than 7,300 ballots were rejected in Oregon's May 19 primary for late postmarks, about 13% of all ballots arriving after Election Day. That rate was 9.6% in the 2024 primary and 8.2% in 2022.

The last day to register to vote for the Nov. 3 Washington County election is Tuesday, Oct. 13. Drop boxes close at 8 p.m. on Election Day.