2026 Freedom Pledge
Last updated on April 17, 2026
At its heart, a democracy is a governance system that values and empowers everyday people — a country of, by, and for all the people.
To help inform voters about candidates’ positions on issues related to democracy, civil rights, and civil liberties, the ACLU of Oregon developed the Freedom Pledge and asked candidates to sign onto the pledge.
The Freedom Pledge was sent to candidates running for the following offices on the May 2026 ballot:
All candidates registered with the Oregon Secretary of State including candidates for U.S. Congress, governor, BOLI commissioner, state senator or representative, district attorney, and state judge, and county-level candidates registered with county clerks’ office including county commissioners and sheriffs.
The Freedom Pledge is the same for all candidates; we did not change it for different elected offices. We recognize that different elected offices have differing powers and authorities. However, regardless of differences in position, powers, and authorities, ALL elected leaders have the ability to defend and advance policies, practices, and processes that defend and advance our democracy, civil liberties, and civil rights. As well, candidates and elected leaders can exercise their platforms and voices, as well as their relationships with other elected leaders, to encourage support for policies, practices, and processes that advance our democracy, civil liberties, and civil rights — even if outside their direct powers and authorities.
The ACLU of Oregon does not endorse candidates, but we do engage in voter education:
The Freedom Pledge is important voter education because the values and positions of our elected leaders — and the candidates running for elected office — are important to all of our efforts to defend and advance our democracy, the rule of law, and our constitutional rights.
There is strong support by the American public and voters for the constitutional rights and related protections in our Freedom Pledge. More information about the public’s strong support is available here.
How voters can use this information:
We are listing all candidates who signed onto our Freedom Pledge on this webpage. Candidates may sign onto the Freedom Pledge by April 30, 2026. We will keep updating the information here as more candidates sign on.
The first section below organizes sign-on candidates by county, which allows voters to identify the candidates who may be on their ballot by looking at their county. (Some candidates are listed under multiple counties because the elected position they are running for covers all or parts of more than one county.)
The second section below organizes sign-on candidates by the elected office they are running for.
Some candidates have provided additional written information related to their sign-on to the Freedom Pledge or their campaign website addresses. This information is available at this link.
Also, please note that judicial candidates who are elected as judges have to follow the Oregon Code of Judicial Conduct, in addition to any other laws or requirements that are applicable. Our understanding is that judicial candidates who are signing onto the Freedom Pledge are doing so in a manner consistent with all of their responsibilities, obligations, and requirements as members of the judiciary.
Some of the candidates who signed the pledge submitted additional comments. For further learning on your local candidates, click below.
