State of Oregon

Oregon Mail-in Voting and Voting Machines Challenge

Thielman v. Fagan

Lawsuit filed by plaintiffs who allege that Oregonians “suffer from a crisis of confidence in their election system” and that election officials have violated the 14th Amendment “by deploying voting tabulation systems that are inherently unsecure and vulnerable to manipulation and intrusion,” which they allege cause “an unequal tabulation of votes” that infringes on their fundamental right to vote. As evidence of these outlandish claims, the plaintiffs cite the debunked, right-wing propaganda movie “2000 Mules,” which they claim “shows, for everyone to see, illegal ballot trafficking” during the 2020 election. The plaintiffs allege that the “mantra of those who defend the current systems is that there is no evidence of fraud. But at the same time, they fail to show the public what is happening inside the black box machines that count the vote.” The plaintiffs also allege that “[e]very phantom vote cast disenfranchises a legitimate vote.” The plaintiffs filed a class action complaint for all “citizens of voting age entitled to vote in Oregon” requesting the court to declare it unconstitutional for any election to be conducted using an electronic voting system and to declare that Oregon’s mail-in voting system is unconstitutional.

On June 29, 2023, the lawsuit was dismissed. On June 29, the plaintiffs appealed the dismissal. Oral argument in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was on Dec. 6, 2023, which affirmed the lower court’s dismissal on Dec. 12, 2023.

On March 11, 2024, the plaintiffs filed a petition for a writ of certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court.

RESULT: On May 20, the Supreme Court declined to hear this case. Oregon’s mail in voting system, including its use of electronic voting machines, will remain in effect.

Case Documents (U.s. Supreme Court)

Case Documents (9th CIRCUIT)

Case Documents

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