Election Process

ELECTION PROCESS

The PRIMARY ELECTION is only to determine the candidates for the major parties that will run in the GENERAL ELECTION. MINOR PARTY candidates do not compete in the primary. Candidates are nominated at the Minor Party Convention to run in the General Election.

For more explanation and Candidate Filing Methods and Requirements.

ELECTORAL COLLEGE

The Electoral College is a process the founding fathers established in the U.S. Constitution as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified registered citizens.  The process consists of the selection of the electors, where they vote and the counting of the votes by Congress. The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. Each state’s electors is the number of members in their Congressional delegation. Oregon has seven electors: five House of Representatives plus two Senators. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. You help choose your state’s electors when you vote for President because when you vote for your candidate you are actually voting for your candidate’s electors.

Electoral votes are allocated based on the Census. Oregon’s seven electoral votes apply through 2020 when a new Census will re-determine the distribution of electoral votes.

State laws vary on how the electors are selected and what their responsibilities are. Oregon Electors are selected by each party with a candidate. They must sign a pledge, required by state law ORS 248.355, to vote for the candidate the electorate selects.