NEWS RELEASE: Deadline for voter registration, party change is April 28, 2026; Voting Center Express opens in Gresham on April 23

NEWS RELEASE: Deadline for voter registration, party change is April 28, 2026; Voting Center Express opens in Gresham on April 23
Registering to vote
Closed primaries
Voting Center Express in Gresham opens April 23, 2026
Sign up for the Track Your Ballot service
Countdown to May 19 Primary Election

For immediate release: April 21, 2026

This release may be viewed in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, Ukrainian and Somali. Multnomah County is also seeking feedback about our translated content. Take our online survey.

Contacts:

Tim Scott or Edward Gutiérrez, 503-988-VOTE (8683)

Communications Office, pressoffice@multco.us

NEWS RELEASE: Deadline for voter registration, party change is April 28, 2026; Voting Center Express opens in Gresham on April 23

Multnomah County, Ore. (April 21, 2026) — The voter registration deadline for the May 19, 2026 Primary Election, as well as the deadline to change your party affiliation, is Tuesday, April 28.

Registering to vote

Voters who are not yet registered to vote can complete their voter registration online at oregonvotes.gov. You will be asked to provide your Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued driver's license or state ID card number, or the last four digits of your Social Security Number if you do not have an Oregon driver’s license or ID card.

You can also register to vote by completing and returning a paper Oregon Voter Registration Card. These cards are available at the U.S. Post Office, Multnomah County Library locations, the Multnomah County Duniway-Lovejoy Elections Building and the Voting Center Express, which opens April 23, 2026.

If you are already registered to vote, now is a good time to check that your address and name are up-to-date in your voter registration record. Voters can review and update their information online at oregonvotes.gov/myvote or with an Oregon Voter Registration Card.

Closed primaries

Oregon has closed primaries. This means voters who want to vote in the Democratic or Republican party’s closed May Primary Elections must be registered as a member of one of those parties by the deadline.

The deadline to change your party affiliation is Tuesday, April 28. Voters who choose not to affiliate with a party, or who are members of a minor party, will receive a nonpartisan ballot, which includes only nonpartisan state and local offices and measures.

Be sure to check that your voter registration has your current residence and mailing address, too.

Voting Center Express in Gresham opens April 23, 2026

Beginning Thursday, April 23, 2026, the Voting Center Express inside the Multnomah County East Building at 600 N.E. 8th St. in Gresham will be open for the May 19, 2026 Primary Election. The Voting Center Express is located near the Gresham Central Transit Center and offers free parking, too.

The Voting Center Express helps improve access to voting resources for more than 165,000 Multnomah County voters. At the Voting Center Express in downtown Gresham, voters can replace a lost or damaged ballot, or update their voter registration information. Voters with a disability can receive assistance. Voters who speak a language other than English can find assistance in their preferred language. Elections staff are also available to answer questions and offer other elections-related help.

The Voting Center Express is open through Election Day on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. The Multnomah County Elections Office, inside the Duniway-Lovejoy Elections Building at 1040 S.E. Morrison St. in Portland, also remains open to the public for voter services.

Normal office hours for the Voting Center Express and the Elections Office are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Leading up to the May Primary Election, both the Voting Center Express and the Elections Office will offer extended hours:

Wednesday, May 13 - Friday, May 15: 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 16: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Monday, May 18: 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Election Day, Tuesday, May 19: 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Sign up for the Track Your Ballot service

Multnomah County Elections has a Track Your Ballot service available in multiple languages!

You can receive ballot alerts and updates in English, Spanish, Russian, Somali, Vietnamese, Ukrainian or Chinese. Text, email or voice alerts will tell you when the County Elections Office has mailed your ballot to you, and also when we have received your returned ballot. Alerts also indicate whether the ballot has been accepted for counting or whether further action is required from you as the voter.

Voters will get access to a special Oregon “I Voted” sticker (all ready to share on social media!) inside the “Accepted Ballot” message. Multnomah County voters can sign up by visiting multnomah.ballot trax.net.

Please note that if you sign up after your ballot has been returned for the current election, you will get notifications for future elections.