How can I delete my voter registration?

November 9, 2014 4:32 PM

I am a registered voter in Oregon and no longer wish to be, how can I delete my name off the rolls?
posted by long haired child to Law & Government (9 answers total)

Response by poster: Also relevant, I am not moving or registering to vote in another place, so I can't do it that way.
posted by long haired child at 4:34 PM on November 9, 2014

I imagine this depends on your specific county, but here's instructions for Multnomah County.
posted by dilaudid at 4:38 PM on November 9, 2014

Simple answer would be call your county's election office during working hours and ask them for instructions.
posted by stormyteal at 4:40 PM on November 9, 2014 [4 favorites]

I just went through this (in a different state) and the election office told me to send a formal letter with my name, date of birth, and address (for identification purposes) which asked that I be removed from their voting rolls.
posted by TwoStride at 5:20 PM on November 9, 2014

When I did this, the local whatever office did not have any instructions so I just sent a letter with my birthday, name, and address (just make sure you give the data they have on file, or they won't find a match) and asked to be removed. It worked.
posted by AllieTessKipp at 6:28 PM on November 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

(I am in Washington, but I'm sure it's similar everywhere)
posted by AllieTessKipp at 6:29 PM on November 9, 2014

I just want to second stormyteal. Your local registrar is always the best place to go for any voting questions.
posted by one4themoment at 6:30 PM on November 9, 2014

If it's a matter of "principle" to disassociate yourself, follow the advice, above, to contact your county clerk/voter registrar. If you want to avoid the myriad contacts being a voter engenders, you are probably better off staying registered or re-registering in an "off-brand" party and sending your mail in ballot used here in Oregon as soon as received, even if you don't actually vote for anyone or anything. Campaigns get information about who has voted so they can contact those who haven't yet. De-registering will probably result in more contacts since they'll be trying to get you to register and then to vote.
posted by uncaken at 7:39 PM on November 9, 2014 [2 favorites]

De-registering will probably result in more contacts since they'll be trying to get you to register and then to vote.

I'm not sure that's the case. I moved between states and took the opportunity to effectively de-register by not registering in the new state. I've lived here for several years, and I virtually never get anything campaign-related. It's wonderful. I guess maybe it would be different for someone who was once registered and no longer is, but I don't know.

Note: Unfortunately it does not prevent you from getting called for jury duty.
posted by primethyme at 7:49 PM on November 9, 2014