Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read is expanding voter outreach ahead of the November 3 general election with a series of Oregon Votes Town Halls scheduled during September and October, placing election administration and voter information before the public as Oregon enters the busiest portion of its 2026 election calendar.
Town halls have been announced in Bend, Gresham and Portland, with Read scheduled to appear alongside federal, state and local elected officials. The Secretary of State’s office describes the events as nonpartisan discussions focused on how Oregon elections operate and what voters need to know to participate successfully and ensure their ballots are counted.
The first Oregon Votes Town Hall is scheduled for Thursday, September 3, from 6 to 7 p.m. at OSU-Cascades Edward J. Ray Hall, 1500 SW Chandler Avenue in Bend.
Read will be joined by state Sen. Anthony Broadman, state Rep. Jason Kropf, state Rep. Emerson Levy and Deschutes County Clerk Steve Dennison. Aaron Switzer, founder and publisher of The Source, is scheduled to moderate the discussion. The event is being conducted in partnership with the Latino Community Association, and Spanish interpretation will be available.
The series moves to Gresham five days later, with a September 8 gathering scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m. at the East County Library Auditorium, 475 NW Division Street.
Read will appear with U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter, state Rep. Ricki Ruiz and state Sen. Chris Gorsek. Garrett Andrews, an adjunct professor at Portland Community College and reporter for Willamette Week, is scheduled to moderate.
While several participants hold elected office and the gatherings are occurring during an active election season, the announced format centers on election administration rather than campaigning. The events are not being promoted as candidate debates or partisan forums, and their stated purpose is to provide information about Oregon’s voting system and the procedures voters should understand before submitting their ballots.
Portland is the third city currently scheduled to host an Oregon Votes Town Hall.
That event is set for October 6, with Read and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson listed as participants. As of late August, the Secretary of State’s community engagement information had not published the same detailed location, time and moderator information available for the Bend and Gresham gatherings.
The Portland date places the town hall particularly close to several important election deadlines.
Oregon’s voter registration deadline for the November general election is October 13. Ballots begin being mailed October 14, leaving only eight days between the Portland event and the beginning of statewide ballot distribution.
Eligible residents who are not registered must complete the process by October 13 to participate in the November election. Registration cards postmarked by that date qualify, while online voter registration must be completed by 11:59 p.m.
Election Day is November 3.
Oregon conducts its elections primarily through vote by mail. Registered voters receive ballots at their mailing addresses and may return completed ballots through the postal system or at official ballot drop locations.
Ballots placed in official drop boxes must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Mailed ballots must carry a qualifying Election Day postmark and arrive within the period permitted under Oregon law.
The November general election is open to registered Oregon voters regardless of political affiliation. The rules differ from partisan primary elections, in which party registration can determine which partisan nominating contests appear on a voter’s ballot. During the general election, voters are not restricted to candidates belonging to the political party shown on their registration.
The Oregon Votes Town Halls are unfolding alongside a broader voter education effort by the Secretary of State’s office.
A 2026 Elections Toolkit has been developed for voters, county election offices, community organizations and groups conducting voter outreach. The materials cover voter registration, ballot completion, voter rights, ballot signatures and procedures for returning completed ballots.
Election information has also been prepared in several languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Vietnamese, providing election guidance to residents who may be more comfortable obtaining voting information in languages other than English.
Oregon’s State Voters’ Pamphlet will add another major source of information beginning September 29, when the publication is scheduled to become available online.
An online audio voters’ guide is scheduled for October 5. Printed State Voters’ Pamphlets are expected to reach Oregon residences between October 7 and October 9, while translated state and county voters’ pamphlets are scheduled to become available online October 9.
The voters’ pamphlet provides information extending beyond the administrative subjects emphasized by the town halls. Depending on the election and jurisdiction, voters can use the pamphlet to review candidate statements, ballot measure information, explanatory material and other election-related content before completing their ballots.
The town hall series adds an in-person component to that voter education program by bringing election administration discussions into public settings before ballots are distributed.
Oregon’s Secretary of State occupies a central position in that process. The office serves as the state’s chief elections authority and oversees the administration of Oregon election laws, statewide election procedures and publication of the State Voters’ Pamphlet.
County election offices carry out much of the work voters encounter directly at the local level. Those offices maintain voter records, administer local election operations, process ballots and report county results as part of Oregon’s statewide election system.
The 2026 general election will include contests at several levels of government, making the administrative calendar relevant to voters throughout Oregon regardless of whether a town hall is scheduled in their community.
The three announced Oregon Votes events, however, do not yet provide direct geographic coverage for every region of the state.
Bend provides the Central Oregon stop, while Gresham and Portland place two events in the Portland metropolitan region. No Oregon Votes Town Hall has currently been announced for Southern Oregon, including Grants Pass or Medford.
That schedule could change.
The Secretary of State’s community engagement information indicates additional events are expected, leaving the possibility that other cities or regions could be added as Oregon moves deeper into election season.
For voters, September marks the beginning of a compressed sequence of election activity.
The Bend town hall takes place September 3, followed by Gresham on September 8. The State Voters’ Pamphlet becomes available online September 29. Portland’s town hall follows October 6, printed pamphlets begin reaching Oregon households shortly afterward, voter registration closes October 13 and ballots begin being mailed October 14.
Those dates lead directly to the November 3 general election.
The Oregon Votes Town Hall series gives the Secretary of State’s office another avenue for distributing election information during that period, supplementing the voters’ pamphlet, online election resources and information provided through county election offices.
For residents who do not attend one of the gatherings, the same election deadlines remain statewide. Registration requirements, ballot mailing dates, ballot return rules and Election Day deadlines apply regardless of where a voter lives.
Whether the town hall schedule eventually extends into Southern Oregon or other areas of the state remains dependent on additional announcements from the Secretary of State’s office.
For now, Bend, Gresham and Portland comprise the publicly announced Oregon Votes schedule as Oregon moves toward the November 3 general election.