Oregon Advisory Opinions April 18, 1958: OAG 58-56 (April 18, 1958)

Oregon Attorney General Opinions

1958.

OAG 58-56.

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In your letter of April 16, 1958, you inquire whether an elector who changes his residence within the county during the period when the register is closed may vote a full ballot by securing a certificate of registration from the County Clerk.

ORS 247.151, in part, provides as follows:

"Any elector who changes his residence within the state during the period when the register of electors is closed may, upon request therefor, procure from the county clerk of the county in which he previously resided a certificate of his registration. Upon delivery of the certificate to the election board and upon subscribing to an oath or affirmation before one of the election board clerks stating his present residence and that he has removed to such residence since the close of the register, the elector shall be permitted to vote in the precinct in which he presently resides. * * *"

In my opinion, the language applies to an elector who changes his residence from one precinct to another within the state regardless of whether the move is also from one county to another. To hold otherwise would be to impute to the legislature an inequitable intent to favor the elector who moves across a county line over the one who moves only within his county. There appears to be no reason for such a distinction nor any evidence that the legislature had such an intent.

The statute is meant to preserve a registered elector's franchise when he moves during a time the law prevents his reregistration. The extent of his move within the state is immaterial, only the time of its occurrence is involved.

Prior to July 1, 1957, this provision, codified as ORS 247.060 and dating back to 1915, was limited to electors who changed their residence within the county. The 1957 amendment was an enlargement of the section's scope and certainly was intended still to include the situations previously covered. The phrase, "in which he previously resided," added by the 1957 amendment, must not be allowed to confuse the meaning of the law or compromise the legislature's intent. The phrase that describes and establishes the class of electors covered by the section is "Any elector who changes his residence within the state." The county in which he pre

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viously resided may or may not be the county of his present residence.

It is my opinion, therefore, that an elector who changes his residence within the county during the period when the register is closed may vote a full ballot by securing a certificate of registration from the county clerk.