🪩 What city councilors bought with $2.2M

$1.25M for Ballot Drop Boxes and Election Funds

Oregon lawmakers approved Secretary of State Tobias Read's request for emergency funds as election officials have encouraged voters to use drop boxes over mailing in ballots. Read says U.S. Postal Service cuts mean ballots take longer to process, and clerks have rejected an increasing number of late-postmarked ballots since 2022. [OPB / Willamette Week]

• Nearly 30 years of all-mail voting: In 1995, GOP lawmakers pushed for expanding vote-by-mail in Oregon and secured the practice statewide in 1998. [KPTV]
• U.S. Postal Service and voting: The Postal Service has long been a carrier of ballots from election clerks to voters and back, but President Donald Trump wants it to be more involved in the process. If implemented, Trump’s executive order would slow the time it takes for the Postal Service to process ballots. Oregon is among two dozen states challenging this order. [New York Times / OPB]
• Sen. Ron Wyden on vote-by-mail: Wyden, who was the first U.S. senator to win office in an election conducted entirely by mail in 1996, worries Trump will seek ways to “dilute the vote.” He also says the $5,000 payment Trump is promising, should Republicans win the midterms, “looks like a bribe to me.” [KGW]
• Are you registered? Multnomah County officials will begin sending out ballots this week to registered voters in the military or working overseas. Oct. 13 is the deadline to register to vote, and ballots will be mailed to all in-state Oregonians the next day. You can register online. [Multnomah County / OPB / Oregon Secretary of State]

Forensic Analysis At Odds With Feds’ Story

An analysis of the January incident — when a U.S. Border Patrol Agent shot at two immigrants in a truck — concluded “the shooter was not in a position to have been run into or over” by the red Toyota being driven by Luis Niño-Moncada. This conflicts with federal officials’ claim that the agent was in the “direct path” of the truck and shot at it because he feared for his life. [Willamette Week]

A Disco Ball, Makeup Artists, and Polling

Portland city councilors collectively spent $2.2 million from office budgets on out-of-state travel, public opinion polling, pet projects in their districts, and more. Meanwhile, the city is facing a $160 million fiscal shortfall. Other major West Coast cities limit office spending by elected officials, but Portland rules allow elected officials and agencies to directly sponsor groups or events with awards up to $25,000. [Oregonian 🔒]

• One example: Dan Ryan spent $600 on makeup artists before two TV appearances, which Ryan says was for city business and at the request of his staff. He doesn’t plan to use funds that way again. [Oregonian 🔒]

Are Oregonians OK?

A WalletHub study ranked Oregon one of the least happy states in the U.S., ranking 42nd overall, while our northern neighbor Washington is “very happy” at 19th overall. If we can’t be happy, at least we can be well-rested: Oregon is number five in adequate sleep rates! [WalletHub / KOIN]