Oregon
A dated list of changes to how Americans vote: district maps, polling places and drop boxes, voting laws and rules, and courts and election officials. Each entry says who did what and when, shows what became of it, and links to the page it rests on. Attempts that failed are listed as failed. Entries that rest on a news report name the outlet.
This is the state view: events recorded for Oregon, then national events that apply here. See the national timeline.
In Oregon
1998
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Oregon voters expand vote by mail to primary and general elections
Multnomah County Elections records that on November 3, 1998 Oregon voters decided to expand vote by mail to primary and general elections by a vote of 757,204 to 334,021. The first vote-by-mail presidential general election followed in November 2000, with 79 percent turnout.
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
1996
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Oregon holds the first general election conducted totally by mail, to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy
According to Multnomah County Elections, in January 1996 Oregon became the first state to conduct a general election totally by mail to fill a vacancy in a federal office, when it selected Senator Ron Wyden to replace Bob Packwood, with 66 percent turnout.
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
1995
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Governor vetoes a bill to expand vote by mail to primary and general elections
Multnomah County Elections records that in spring or summer 1995 the Oregon Legislature approved a proposal to expand vote by mail to primary and general elections and the Governor vetoed the bill. In December 1995 Oregon became the first state to hold a primary election totally by mail, to fill a vacancy in a federal office.
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
Nationwide
1993
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Supreme Court decides Shaw v. Reno
On June 28, 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court held that voters stated a claim under the Equal Protection Clause by alleging that a reapportionment plan was "so irrational on its face that it can be understood only as an effort to segregate voters into separate districts on the basis of race," without sufficient justification.
Source last checked Oct 23, 2026
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National Voter Registration Act of 1993 becomes law
Public Law 103-31, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, is dated May 20, 1993. The law states its purpose as "to establish procedures that will increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elections for Federal office."
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
How this timeline is built
Every entry rests on at least one source that was opened and read, and that source states the date and the fact. Courts, legislatures, election offices, the Justice Department, the Census Bureau, the Federal Register and Congress.gov come first. A news report is used only when no official page states the fact, and it is labeled with the outlet's name. Encyclopedias are not used as sources. History starts in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act. County names come from the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer. Congressional district numbers are those in use for the 2026 election; an event is tagged to a district only when its source names that congressional district.
When a later event changes an earlier one, such as a law later struck down, both entries are listed and point to each other. This page does not predict outcomes or say which party a change helps. U.S. House maps for 2026 · Back to the 2026 voting center.