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Date: November 30, 2023
Contact: Laura Kerns | laura.kerns@sos.oregon.gov
Salem, OR — Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade announced today she will follow the usual procedure for Oregon presidential primaries and not remove Donald Trump from the ballot for the Oregon Republican Party primary. The former President’s qualification has been a major topic in national media, and the Secretary’s office has received significant voter contact on this issue.
“Oregon law does not give me the authority to determine the qualifications of candidates in a presidential primary,” said Secretary Griffin-Valade. “I will follow our usual process and expect to put Donald Trump on the primary ballot unless a court directs me otherwise.”
State law treats presidential primary elections differently than other elections where the Secretary has the authority to disqualify a candidate. In a presidential primary, voters are not deciding who will hold office or even who will go on the general election ballot. Instead, they are communicating their preference to party delegates who choose a nominee at the party’s nominating convention.
Legal advice from the Oregon Department of Justice concluded the Secretary lacks the authority to disqualify a candidate in a presidential primary election because there is no set of qualifications for who can be considered at a party nominating convention.
The Secretary’s decision applies only to the primary election, not the November general election.
“I understand that people want to skip to the end of this story. But right now, we don’t even know who the nominee will be,” said Secretary Griffin-Valade. “When the general election comes, we’ll follow the law and be completely transparent with our reasoning.”
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Attachment: Letter to Secretary of State from Department of Justice Appellate Division
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