September 24th was National Voter Registration Day, a day to raise awareness for voter registration opportunities and register as many eligible voters as possible. Every year, NVRD is promoted by officials at all levels of government and across the political spectrum, including Secretaries of State and state and local election administrators. Oregon is a national leader in voter registration efforts, with over 90% of eligible Oregonians registered to vote. This year, 4,595 Oregonians either registered to vote for the first time or updated their voter registration.

During every NVRD, and every election year, many groups try to register people to vote. While some of those groups are well intentioned, others try to obtain personal information. In the past, some of those groups have failed to forward information to the Elections Division, which meant that those people did not actually get registered to vote. That is why Oregonians should only trust our official website to register to vote, where they can have confidence that their registration will become active and that their personal data will not be used for commercial purposes. Oregonians can register to vote online at oregonvotes.gov/register. Oregonians who are already registered to vote can check their address and party preference at oregonvotes.gov/myvote.

As Secretary of State, I encourage every eligible Oregonian to be registered to vote. Our democracy works best when more citizens are engaged.

Also on September 24th, I visited the Clackamas County Elections Department in Oregon City. There, Clackamas County Clerk Sherry Hall gave me a tour of her department’s state-of-the-art facility. I was particularly impressed by how secure their elections operation is. Each of Oregon’s 36 counties has an elections office with secured rooms where ballots are tallied, and which are equipped with video surveillance. The tallying systems are not connected to the internet and there is a paper backup. In this way, Oregon’s vote by mail system makes elections more secure because it allows the state and counties to focus their security resources on the election offices themselves, rather than having to secure thousands of voting booths across the state.

While on Clackamas County’s campus, I attended a Policy Session of the Board of Commissioners, where I spoke about the responsibilities of the Secretary of State’s office in general, and in particular about how our Archives Division assists local governments with their records management systems and practices. You can listen to my testimony here. I was joined by Senator Verne Duncan, a former colleague of mine in the Oregon Senate. I would like to thank the Board of Commissioners for inviting me to speak to them and Sherry Hall for the excellent tour.

On September 25th, I attended and spoke at a breakfast sponsored by 100 Strong in Beaverton. 100 Strong is a women-in-business mentorship program that focuses on giving back through mentorship and group donations. This month, the group was supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which strives to grant the wish of every child diagnosed with a critical illness. For my speech, I was interviewed by my granddaughter, Rachel Grittman, who asked me about my family life and my career in farming, real estate, law, and public service. Also in attendance was my daughter-in-law, Lorraine Clarno, who serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Beaverton Area Chamber of Commerce. Special thanks to 100 Strong for having me, and to all those who attended for their activism and generosity.

On October 7th, Deputy Vial and I attended the 2019 Oregon Statesman Dinner. This event is hosted each year by Oregon Business & Industry, and brings together business, civic, and elected leaders from around the state and across the political spectrum. One of the purposes of the event is to honor the Statesman of the Year—an award recognizing different Oregonians for their extraordinary achievements in public service, consensus building, and forging collaborative solutions to critical issues facing the state. This year, the award was given to Ted Kulongoski, former Governor of Oregon, and Gerry Frank, who has written for The Oregonian’s Travel Section over 28 years. During this event, we also remembered three outstanding statesmen who are no longer with us. I worked closely with Senator Jackie Winters and Secretary of State Norma Paulus, and I am honored to succeed Secretary of State Dennis Richardson.

On October 9th, Joe Wiegand visited the Oregon State Capitol. Joe is the world’s premiere Theodore Roosevelt reprisor. He has performed at the White House, in all 50 states, and internationally. While he was at the capitol, speaking to a group of students about the Presidency, government, politics, and the turn of the 20th Century, he stopped by my office and gifted me with a “teddy” bear, named after the former President.

Last month, on September 13th, Deputy Secretary of State Rich Vial attended the 58th Annual Conference of the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council, where almost 200 union members and guests heard from national building trades officials as well as elected leaders. Deputy Vial gave remarks on my behalf, in which he discussed the various functions of the Secretary of State’s office, and the importance of carrying out those functions in a nonpartisan manner. You can read his remarks here.

Since 1911, the Oregon Blue Book has been providing readers with important and fascinating facts about Oregon. It is Oregon’s official almanac and fact book. Want to learn about Oregon history? See the Blue Book. You’re a government or elections nerd? See the Blue Book. Interested in Oregon tribal information? See the Blue Book. The Oregon outdoors is your thing? You must see the Blue Book! Arts and Sciences are your bag? Put the Oregon Blue Book in one and carry it home.

Each edition of the Blue Book has a different color exhibit theme, highlighting Oregon as a unique and fascinating place to live or visit. The 2019–2020 edition spotlights Oregon’s local festivals and community celebrations, celebrating a wide variety of uniquely Oregon themes, from Portland’s roses to McMinnville’s UFOs. These long-standing and diverse celebrations reveal the true character of Oregon, showing what makes us tick. This official state almanac is a must-have for every Oregonian and visitor.

This edition of the Blue Book was printed as a limited edition, with less than 1,000 still available for sale, so get yours now before it joins the previous 54 editions as a state icon and collectors’ item. It makes a great Christmas gift!

As Secretary of State, I’ve made it a point to highlight exceptional service by our employees. This month, I want to recognize Matt Brown, Senior Records Management Analyst for the Archives Division. Matt has worked at the State Archives since 2004, and is known for his patience and professionalism. Over the years, he’s worked tirelessly to deliver thorough assistance to Oregon Records Management Solution clients. ORMS is a public-private partnership between the Oregon State Archives and Chaves Consulting, an Oregon-based firm with a history of supporting state and local government. All public entities in Oregon can look to ORMS for help with public records and information management.

Most recently, Matt was recognized by the Public Records Advocate and the Governor's Office as part of Sunshine Week, a national effort started in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors to promote dialog about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Specifically, Matt was recognized for his recent work with the Department of Environmental Quality. Throughout that project, Matt helped each employee to learn not just the basics of public records management, but also highly technical processes, such as Dataport, that have enabled them to make some of the most sought-after public records available online for public access. Matt has been instrumental in building one of the Archives Division’s core missions—ensuring public access to government records—and making that mission a reality.

Working with public servants like Matt is one of the most rewarding aspects of serving as your Secretary of State.

Sincerely,