Trump remains on Oregon's primary election ballot ... for now

(JANUARY 18, 2024) The United States elects a new president in November. Before that, states have a primary election. That is when political parties choose their candidate.

Oregon's primary election is in May. LaVonne Griffin-Valade is Oregon's Secretary of State. She released a preliminary list of candidates that will appear on the primary election ballots.

Democratic candidates:

• Joseph Biden

• Dean Phillips

• Marianne Williamson

Republican candidates:

• Ron DeSantis

• Nikki Haley

• Donald Trump

This is important news because some people have been trying to remove Donald Trump for the primary ballot. They say that he is not eligible. They say he supported an insurrection because of his actions around the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. capitol in Washington. A person who supports an insurrection cannot be president.

Oregon law says the Secretary of State says who can be on its ballot. Griffin-Valade says she needs a court order to remove Trump from the ballot for this reason. The Oregon Supreme Court hasn't made a decision yet. It wants to hear what the U.S. Supreme Court says about a similar situation in Colorado. Colorado disqualified Trump and removed him from its ballot. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear from lawyers in February and then make a decision.

Oregon's Secretary of State says her list is preliminary. “Names will be removed from the list if a candidate suspends their campaign or otherwise publicly announces that they are no longer running for president in the 2024 election,” Griffin-Valade’s office said. “Other changes to the list will be made at the direction of the courts, if necessary.”

She adds, "The 2024 Primary Election is just four months away. I want to remind Oregonians to check their voter registration information at Oregonvotes.gov . If you’ve moved, changed your name, or just want to make sure you’re registered, you can check your info in just a few minutes at Oregonvotes.gov .”