Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade has announced 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.

In a letter from the Oregon Department of Justice, she was warned, "In recent months, scholars and advocates have argued that, as a result of his role in the January 6 insurrection, Donald Trump is barred from serving as President under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In light of this controversy, you ask whether you should omit him from the upcoming presidential primary ballot. We conclude that Oregon law does not charge the Secretary of State with determining whether a major party candidate in a residential primary election will be qualified to serve as President if ultimately elected."

“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.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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.”


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2023-11-30 17:36:41

Last Update: 2023-11-30 17:45:38