(1) As used in this section, ‘undue influence’ means force, violence, restraint or the threat of it, inflicting injury, damage, harm, loss of employment or other loss or the threat of it, or giving or promising to give money, employment or other thing of value.

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(2) A person, acting either alone or with or through any other person, may not directly or indirectly subject any person to undue influence with the intent to induce any person to:

(a) Register or vote;

(b) Refrain from registering or voting;

(c) Register or vote in any particular manner;

(d) Be or refrain from or cease being a candidate;

(e) Contribute or refrain from contributing to any candidate, political party or political committee;

(f) Render or refrain from rendering services to any candidate, political party or political committee;

(g) Challenge or refrain from challenging a person offering to vote;

(h) Apply or refrain from applying for a ballot as an absent elector; or

(i) Sign or refrain from signing a prospective petition or an initiative, referendum, recall or candidate nominating petition.

(3) A person may not solicit or accept money or other thing of value as an inducement to act as prohibited by subsection (2) of this section.

(4) This section does not prohibit:

(a) The employment of persons to render services to candidates, political parties or political committees;

(b) The public distribution by candidates, political parties or political committees of sample ballots or other items readily available to the public without charge, even though the distributor incurs costs in the distribution;

(c) Public or nonpromissory statements by or on behalf of a candidate of the candidate’s intentions or purposes if elected;

(d) A promise by a candidate to employ any person as administrative assistant, secretary or other direct personal aide;

(e) Free custody and care of minor children of persons during the time those persons are absent from those children for voting purposes;

(f) For persons voting, free transportation to and from places designated for the deposit of ballots under ORS § 254.470 or to and from locations described in ORS § 254.472 or 254.474; but no means of advertising, solicitation or inducement to influence the vote of persons transported may be used with that transportation;

(g) Individuals or political committees from providing refreshments incidental to a gathering in support of or in opposition to a candidate, political committee or measure;

(h) The public distribution of registration cards by a person approved by the Secretary of State under ORS § 247.171 to print, copy or otherwise prepare and distribute registration cards, even though the distributor incurs costs in the distribution; or

(i) An elections official from providing return identification envelopes for ballots that may be returned by mail at no cost to the elector under ORS § 254.473. [Formerly 260.412; 1983 c.83 § 31; 1987 c.464 § 1; 1987 c.727 § 10; 1989 c.173 § 2; 2001 c.960 § 1; 2007 c.154 § 53; 2009 c.533 § 10; 2013 c.520 § 20; 2019 c.638 § 4]

[Amended by 1957 c.644 § 21; 1971 c.749 § 62; 1973 c.744 § 44; repealed by 1979 c.190 § 431]