Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 260.665 (2026)

Undue influence to affect registration, voting, candidacy, signing petitions; solicitation of money or other benefits

✓ current as of May 2026
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      260.665 Undue influence to affect registration, voting, candidacy, signing petitions; solicitation of money or other benefits. (1) As used in this section, “undue influence” means force, violence, restraint or the threat of it, inflicting injury, damage, harm, loss of employment or other loss or the threat of it, or giving or promising to give money, employment or other thing of value.

      (2) A person, acting either alone or with or through any other person, may not directly or indirectly subject any person to undue influence with the intent to induce any person to:

      (a) Register or vote;

      (b) Refrain from registering or voting;

      (c) Register or vote in any particular manner;

      (d) Be or refrain from or cease being a candidate;

      (e) Contribute or refrain from contributing to any candidate, political party or political committee;

      (f) Render or refrain from rendering services to any candidate, political party or political committee;

      (g) Challenge or refrain from challenging a person offering to vote;

      (h) Apply or refrain from applying for a ballot as an absent elector; or

      (i) Sign or refrain from signing a prospective petition or an initiative, referendum, recall or candidate nominating petition.

      (3) A person may not solicit or accept money or other thing of value as an inducement to act as prohibited by subsection (2) of this section.

      (4) This section does not prohibit:

      (a) The employment of persons to render services to candidates, political parties or political committees;

      (b) The public distribution by candidates, political parties or political committees of sample ballots or other items readily available to the public without charge, even though the distributor incurs costs in the distribution;

      (c) Public or nonpromissory statements by or on behalf of a candidate of the candidate’s intentions or purposes if elected;

      (d) A promise by a candidate to employ any person as administrative assistant, secretary or other direct personal aide;

      (e) Free custody and care of minor children of persons during the time those persons are absent from those children for voting purposes;

      (f) For persons voting, free transportation to and from places designated for the deposit of ballots under ORS 254.470 or to and from locations described in ORS 254.472 or 254.474; but no means of advertising, solicitation or inducement to influence the vote of persons transported may be used with that transportation;

      (g) Individuals or political committees from providing refreshments incidental to a gathering in support of or in opposition to a candidate, political committee or measure;

      (h) The public distribution of registration cards by a person approved by the Secretary of State under ORS 247.171 to print, copy or otherwise prepare and distribute registration cards, even though the distributor incurs costs in the distribution; or

      (i) An elections official from providing return identification envelopes for ballots that may be returned by mail at no cost to the elector under ORS 254.473. [Formerly 260.412; 1983 c.83 §31; 1987 c.464 §1; 1987 c.727 §10; 1989 c.173 §2; 2001 c.960 §1; 2007 c.154 §53; 2009 c.533 §10; 2013 c.520 §20; 2019 c.638 §4]

 

      260.670 [Amended by 1957 c.644 §21; 1971 c.749 §62; 1973 c.744 §44; repealed by 1979 c.190 §431]

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases, 1986–2008 · leading case: Am. Fed'n of Teachers-Oregon v. Oregon Taxpayers United Pac, 145 P.3d 1111 (Or. Ct. App. 2006).
Am. Fed'n of Teachers-Oregon v. Oregon Taxpayers United Pac, 145 P.3d 1111 (Or. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 10× “575; and ORS 260.665. ORS 166.715(5)(a)(V) (1981).”
Oregon Repub. Party v. State of Or., 717 P.2d 1206 (Or. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 19× “The Attorney General responded with an opinion that the proposed mailing would violate ORS 260.665. Plaintiff thereupon filed this action, seeking a declaration that the mailing would not violate the statute.”
Oregon Repub. Party v. State of Oregon, 722 P.2d 1237 (Or. 1986). · cites it 6× “The trial court, agreeing with the State, ruled that providing the stamped envelope constituted giving something of value in order to induce a person to vote, thereby directly violating ORS 260.665(1) and (2)(a). The Party appealed to the Court of Appeals.”
Dansereau v. Ulmer, 903 P.2d 555 (Alaska 1995). · cites it 4× “Or. Rev. Stat. § 260.665 (1) & (2)(a) (1993).”
Coultas v. City of Sutherlin, 871 P.2d 465 (Or. 1994). “Last, the Tax Court concluded that plaintiffs’ allegations that the “two percent limitation was ‘invalid from its inception’ and the actions related thereto violate Article II, section 1, of the Oregon Constitution and ORS 260.665” were not within the jurisdiction of the Tax…”
Porter v. Jones, 518 F.3d 1181 (9th Cir. 2008). · cites it 2× “BOWEN course, the buyer of the vote may be cheated by secret non- performance of the promise he bought, and have no legal rem- edy, but a promise is good consideration even if the promise is unenforceable,19 and even if it is “not binding or against public policy.”
Oregon Repub. Party v. State, 726 P.2d 412 (Or. Ct. App. 1986). “This court had little difficulty in holding that the plan proposed by plaintiffs did not violate ORS 260.665(2)(a). We also concluded that this case is not moot.”
Oregon Repub. Party v. State, 726 P.2d 412 (Or. Ct. App. 1986). “This court had little difficulty in holding that the plan proposed by plaintiffs did not violate ORS 260.665(2)(a). We also concluded that this case is not moot.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 260.665(1) — 4 cases
Oregon Repub. Party v. State of Oregon, 722 P.2d 1237 (Or. 1986). “The trial court, agreeing with the State, ruled that providing the stamped envelope constituted giving something of value in order to induce a person to vote, thereby directly violating ORS 260.665(1) and (2)(a). The Party appealed to the Court of Appeals.”
Am. Fed'n of Teachers-Oregon v. Oregon Taxpayers United Pac, 145 P.3d 1111 (Or. Ct. App. 2006). “575; and ORS 260.665. ORS 166.715(5)(a)(V) (1981).”
Oregon Repub. Party v. State of Or., 717 P.2d 1206 (Or. Ct. App. 1986). “The Attorney General responded with an opinion that the proposed mailing would violate ORS 260.665. Plaintiff thereupon filed this action, seeking a declaration that the mailing would not violate the statute.”
Dansereau v. Ulmer, 903 P.2d 555 (Alaska 1995). “Or. Rev. Stat. § 260.665 (1) & (2)(a) (1993).”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 260.665(2) — 2 cases
Oregon Repub. Party v. State of Oregon, 722 P.2d 1237 (Or. 1986). “The trial court, agreeing with the State, ruled that providing the stamped envelope constituted giving something of value in order to induce a person to vote, thereby directly violating ORS 260.665(1) and (2)(a). The Party appealed to the Court of Appeals.”
Oregon Repub. Party v. State of Or., 717 P.2d 1206 (Or. Ct. App. 1986). “The Attorney General responded with an opinion that the proposed mailing would violate ORS 260.665. Plaintiff thereupon filed this action, seeking a declaration that the mailing would not violate the statute.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 260.665(2)(a) — 4 cases
Oregon Repub. Party v. State of Oregon, 722 P.2d 1237 (Or. 1986). “The trial court, agreeing with the State, ruled that providing the stamped envelope constituted giving something of value in order to induce a person to vote, thereby directly violating ORS 260.665(1) and (2)(a). The Party appealed to the Court of Appeals.”
Oregon Repub. Party v. State of Or., 717 P.2d 1206 (Or. Ct. App. 1986). “The Attorney General responded with an opinion that the proposed mailing would violate ORS 260.665. Plaintiff thereupon filed this action, seeking a declaration that the mailing would not violate the statute.”
Oregon Repub. Party v. State, 726 P.2d 412 (Or. Ct. App. 1986). “This court had little difficulty in holding that the plan proposed by plaintiffs did not violate ORS 260.665(2)(a). We also concluded that this case is not moot.”
Oregon Repub. Party v. State, 726 P.2d 412 (Or. Ct. App. 1986). “This court had little difficulty in holding that the plan proposed by plaintiffs did not violate ORS 260.665(2)(a). We also concluded that this case is not moot.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 260.665(2)(e) — 1 case
Oregon Repub. Party v. State of Or., 717 P.2d 1206 (Or. Ct. App. 1986). “The Attorney General responded with an opinion that the proposed mailing would violate ORS 260.665. Plaintiff thereupon filed this action, seeking a declaration that the mailing would not violate the statute.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 260.665(4)(f) — 1 case
Dansereau v. Ulmer, 903 P.2d 555 (Alaska 1995). “Or. Rev. Stat. § 260.665 (1) & (2)(a) (1993).”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.