The short version.
A plain-language guide to how county ballot access works in every one of Oregon's 36 counties. Oregon is a vote-by-mail state, and its 2026 candidate-filing window closed months ago -- the deadline fell 70 days before the May 19, 2026 primary -- but the November 3, 2026 general election itself is still ahead. This guide is written as a reference for how filing works before the next time a given office comes up, and it carries your county's County Clerk, the office that actually runs the election between now and November.
Most Oregon county row offices -- County Clerk, Assessor, Treasurer and Sheriff -- are elected together once every four years and were last on the ballot in 2026, so those seats are not up again until 2030. County Commissioner is different: its seats are staggered, so only some of a county's commissioner seats come up in any given even year, including 2028 (ORS 204.005). A candidate for any of these offices pays a flat $50 filing fee (ORS 249.056) or, for the offices state law makes nonpartisan -- Clerk, Assessor, Surveyor, Treasurer and Sheriff -- reaches the ballot for free with a nominating petition instead (ORS 249.072). The County Clerk, listed for every county below, is the office that actually runs the election, accepts filings, and is the right first call for anything county-specific this page does not answer.
This page covers that for Lake County and points you at your local election office for anything specific to your county. It is not legal advice; the official rules live with your election office and the Oregon Secretary of State.
Lake County by the numbers.
- In 2024, Lake County cast 4,130 votes for president: 81.5% Republican, 16.2% Democratic.
The campaigns that win the field are the ones who start building their list of supporters and volunteers before qualifying even opens, not after. Motion51 is ready to load your Lake County voter file the moment you send it over, so you can start finding your people now.
Oregon election calendar (2026).
Oregon runs one statewide primary and general election calendar for every county. The dates below cover both the 2026 cycle that already closed and the next filing window most county offices will actually use, ahead of the May 2028 primary.
- Tue May 19, 2026Oregon's 2026 primary election -- already held. Filing for this cycle's county offices closed 70 days beforehand, in early March 2026 (ORS 249.037).
- Tue Nov 3, 2026Oregon's 2026 general election -- still ahead. Ballots mail starting October 14, 2026; the last day to register to vote is October 13, 2026.
- Thu Sept 9, 2027Earliest day a nominating petition or declaration of candidacy may be filed for the 2028 cycle -- 250 days before the next primary (ORS 249.037(1)).
- Tue Mar 7, 2028Filing deadline for the 2028 cycle -- 70 days before the May 2028 primary (ORS 249.037(1)). This is the date that matters for a County Commissioner seat coming up in 2028; Clerk, Assessor, Treasurer and Sheriff are not up again until 2030.
- Tue May 16, 2028Oregon's next primary election -- the third Tuesday in May (ORS 254.056).
- Tue Nov 7, 2028Oregon's next general election -- the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November (ORS 254.056).
These dates are set statewide by statute, not by each county individually -- but confirm the current-year date with your County Clerk before relying on it, and check whether your specific office is even on the ballot in a given year; Commissioner seats stagger and not every office is up every cycle.
Offices on the ballot in Lake County.
Oregon elects a County Clerk, County Assessor, County Treasurer and Sheriff together on a single four-year cycle (ORS 204.005, 204.010); a District Attorney also runs county-wide on a four-year term. County Commissioner seats are staggered, so only some of a county's commissioner seats are up in any given even year. County Surveyor is the one office on this list state law does NOT make elective by default -- unless a county's home-rule charter says otherwise, the county governing body appoints its Surveyor (ORS 204.005(2)).
- County Clerk -- elected countywide, 4-year term, next up 2030 after the 2026 election.
- County Assessor -- elected countywide, 4-year term, next up 2030.
- County Treasurer -- elected countywide, 4-year term, next up 2030.
- Sheriff -- elected countywide, 4-year term, next up 2030.
- District Attorney -- elected countywide, 4-year term (ORS 8.610); confirm your county's specific cycle with the County Clerk.
- County Commissioner -- staggered 4-year terms (ORS 204.005(1)(e)); which of your county's seats, if any, is up in 2028 depends on when that seat was last filled.
- County Surveyor -- appointed by the county governing body by default, not elected, unless your county's home-rule charter provides otherwise (ORS 204.005(2)).
Oregon counties do not all share the same commissioner numbering, charter status, or governing-body structure -- some retain a County Court headed by a county judge instead of a Board of Commissioners. No single statewide list of ‘which seat is up’ applies to all 36 counties; your County Clerk's office publishes the current year's specific offices up for election.
How to get on the ballot.
Oregon offers two routes onto the ballot for county office: pay a flat filing fee, or skip the fee with a nominating petition. Which offices qualify as ‘nonpartisan’ for the free petition route is set by statute, not by county choice.
Pay the filing fee -- $50 flat, every county office.
A candidate for County Clerk, Assessor, Treasurer, Sheriff, District Attorney or County Commissioner pays a $50 filing fee with a declaration of candidacy (ORS 249.056(1)(c)). This is the same flat fee statewide -- Oregon does not scale it to the office's salary or the county's size.
- Filing must happen between the 250th and 70th day before the primary election (ORS 249.037(1)) -- for the 2028 cycle, that is September 9, 2027 through March 7, 2028.
- The fee is refunded only if the candidate dies, withdraws, or becomes ineligible before the election (ORS 249.170); it is not refunded simply for losing.
Nominating petition instead -- free, for the nonpartisan offices.
County Clerk, Assessor, Surveyor, Treasurer and Sheriff are nonpartisan offices by statute (ORS 249.001), so a candidate for any of them may skip the fee and petition on instead. The petition needs at least 500 signatures of electors in the county, or a number equal to at least 1% of the votes cast in the county for Governor at the most recent election where a Governor was elected to a full term, whichever is fewer (ORS 249.072(2)).
- Oregon last elected a Governor to a full term in 2026, so that election's county-level Governor vote sets the 1% figure until the next one.
- Petition signers must be registered Oregon electors; get the exact target number for your county from the County Clerk rather than assuming another county's total.
County Commissioner is NOT automatically nonpartisan under state law -- it only qualifies for this free route if your county's home-rule charter designates it nonpartisan. Confirm your county's status with its Clerk before assuming the petition route applies to a Commissioner race.
Write-in candidates.
A write-in candidate for county office files a declaration of write-in candidacy with the County Clerk (ORS 248.019, 248.021) rather than paying a fee or collecting signatures. Ask your County Clerk for the current deadline -- it runs on its own short calendar near the election, not the 70-day filing window above.
Statutory references: ORS 249.056 (county officer filing fee, $50) · ORS 249.037 (time for filing petition or declaration; 250th to 70th day before the nominating election) · ORS 249.072 (nominating petition signature requirements for nonpartisan office) · ORS 249.001 (definitions; which county offices are nonpartisan by default) · ORS 204.005, 204.010 (election/appointment and 4-year terms of county officers) · ORS 248.019, 248.021 (declaration of write-in candidacy) · ORS 247.955(2) (resale of the voter list to candidates or political committees for political purposes is not a commercial use). Fees and signature counts change; confirm before you file.
The Lake County Clerk.
Oregon's county ballot access runs through a filing fee or a nominating petition, not this office -- but the County Clerk below actually administers the election, accepts candidate filings and petitions, and is the right first call for anything this page cannot answer.
- Office
- 513 Center St., Lakeview, OR 97630-1539
- Phone
- 541-947-6006
- [email protected]
Contact details verified 2026-08-14. Official statewide sources: Oregon Secretary of State: Run for Public Office · Oregon Secretary of State: County Elections Officials · Oregon Secretary of State: Upcoming Elections.
Common questions.
When is the filing deadline to run for county office in Lake County?
Oregon's 2026 filing window already closed, in early March 2026. The next filing window runs from September 9, 2027 through March 7, 2028 -- 70 days before the May 16, 2028 primary (ORS 249.037). Confirm the exact date with the Lake County Clerk, since it can shift slightly if a deadline lands on a holiday.
How much does it cost to run for county office in Lake County?
A flat $50 filing fee (ORS 249.056), the same statewide. Candidates for the offices Oregon law makes nonpartisan -- Clerk, Assessor, Surveyor, Treasurer and Sheriff -- can skip the fee with a nominating petition instead (ORS 249.072).
How many signatures do I need to petition onto the ballot in Lake County?
For a nonpartisan county office, at least 500 signatures of Lake County electors, or a number equal to at least 1% of the county's vote for Governor at the last election a Governor was elected to a full term, whichever is fewer (ORS 249.072). Get the exact target from the Lake County Clerk.
Which county offices are on the ballot in Lake County?
Clerk, Assessor, Treasurer and Sheriff were last elected together in 2026 and are not up again until 2030. County Commissioner seats stagger, so only some of Lake County's commissioner seats may be up in 2028 -- confirm which with the Lake County Clerk. County Surveyor is appointed, not elected, unless Lake County's charter says otherwise.
Where do I file to run for office in Lake County?
With the Lake County Clerk -- the office and contact details are above. Oregon does not run county candidate filing through the Secretary of State.
How many registered voters are in Lake County?
Motion51 does not hold the Oregon voter file. Oregon law is explicit that reselling the statewide list to a candidate or political committee for political purposes is not a commercial use (ORS 247.955(2)), so a campaign can buy it directly from the Secretary of State and bring it to us to load in, rather than us publishing county-by-county numbers here.
After you qualify: the field operation.
Oregon's vote-by-mail system means there is no Election Day polling-place operation to staff -- ballots go out weeks early and voters can return them any time up to 8 p.m. on election night. That shifts the real work earlier: turning out your own supporters' ballots the moment they land, not chasing a single-day turnout spike.
That is the part Motion51 was built for. You scope your district, cut turf, and send volunteers out with a phone instead of a clipboard. It works offline, so canvassing does not stop where the cell signal does, and every door is logged with a timestamp for your records. Our For Candidates page walks through what that looks like.
Counties next to Lake.
Running in a district that crosses a county line? Each of these has its own guide.