1. (1) This rule governs the required translation of certain county voters’ pamphlet materials by the Secretary of State for elections in which the county mails county residents a voters’ pamphlet.
2. (2) Pursuant to ORS 251.167, ORS 251.170, and ORS 251.315, the Secretary of State translates certain county voters’ pamphlet information from English into the most commonly spoken languages in the state and of the county other than English and posts the translations on the Secretary of State’s website.
3. (3) The Secretary of State bears the cost of translating and posting the portions of the county voters’ pamphlets described in this rule and ORS 251.167, ORS 251.170, and ORS 251.315.

4. (4) For each county voters’ pamphlet, the Secretary of State will provide county elections officials with a plain language statement stating that portions of the pamphlet have been translated and specifying the website address where the translated material may be found.

   1. (a) The statement will be provided in English and in each of the languages other than English the county voters’ pamphlet will be translated into.
   2. (b) The Secretary of State will provide the county elections official the plain language translated statement for inclusion in the county voters pamphlet, no later than the 62nd day before the election.
   3. (c) County elections officials shall include the translated statements on the page immediately following the county election official’s letter to voters or other similar introductory statement.
   4. (d) If a county voters’ pamphlet does not include a county elections official’s letter or other similar introductory statement,  the county election official will prominently place the translated statements as close as possible to the cover page of the pamphlet.

5. (5) The Secretary of State will translate voters’ pamphlet information outlined in ORS 251.170(2) into each language other than English the county voters’ pamphlet will be translated into. In addition to the information required to be translated under ORS 251.170(2) and as provided by the county the Secretary of State  will translate the following information into each language other than English the county voters’ pamphlet will be translated into:

   1. (a) Resources for voters with disabilities.
   2. (b) A statement of the duties and responsibilities of a precinct committeeperson to be elected at the primary election.
   3. (c) Any maps deemed necessary by the county;

6. (6) County elections officials shall provide county voters’ pamphlet material to the Secretary of State for translation on the timelines as follows:

   1. (a) For elections held in November and May, the county elections officials will provide the Secretary of State with the following:

      1. (A) County pamphlet general information outlined in ORS 251.170(2) and section 5 of this administrative rule no later than the 82nd day before the date of the election.
      2. (B) Minor changes to previously submitted county voters’ pamphlet general information, including grammatical corrections, deletions of text, and additions of drop box site addresses. Edits must clearly indicate which text was revised from the previously submitted version.  Edits must be submitted no later than the 55th day before the date of the election.
      3. (C) County ballot measure information and explanatory statements no later than the 55th day before the date of the election.
   2. (b) For elections held in March and August, the county elections official will provide the Secretary of State with county pamphlet general information, county ballot measure information, and explanatory statements no later than the 55th day before the date of the election.
7. (7) The Secretary of State  will post translated county voters’ pamphlet materials on the Secretary of State’s website no later than the 25th day before the election.

8. (8) A county may translate any portion of the county voters’ pamphlet or accept translations for publication that are not described in this rule for publication on the County’s website or in the mailed voters’ pamphlet.

   1. (a) The county will bear the cost of making such additional translations, if applicable, and publishing them on the county’s website or in the county voters’ pamphlet.
   2. (b) The county shall follow translations best practices criteria in OAR 165-024-0020 and use Secretary of State Translated Election Glossaries for any additional translations.

Statutory/Other Authority

ORS 246.150 & ORS 251.170

Statutes/Other Implemented

ORS 251.170 & ORS 251.315

History

ELECT 9-2026, amend filed 03/04/2026, effective 03/09/2026
ELECT 5-2023, adopt filed 01/10/2023, effective 01/11/2023
ELECT 29-2022, temporary adopt filed 08/31/2022, effective 09/01/2022 through 02/27/2023