Oregon Ballots Go Out Today; Secretary of State Urges Voters to Mail Them Back at Least a Week Early
Secretary of State Tobias Read urged Oregonians to return their completed ballots early to avoid potential postal delays ahead of Election Day after Oregon election officials started mailing ballots to voters today, October 14.
Oregon Begins Mailing Ballots Today
The voter registration deadline was October 13. Oregon’s ballot mailing follows Tuesday’s voter-readiness briefing.
Read is scheduled to discuss how Oregonians can track their ballots and ensure their votes arrive in time to be counted and Daniel Cortez, president of the Oregon American Postal Workers Union, is also scheduled to participate.
Mail Test Shows Why Officials Recommend Returning Ballots Early
The Secretary of State’s office conducted a postal experiment, highlighting the potential delays voters could face when returning ballots through the U.S. Postal Service.
Officials sent and tracked 108 pieces of mail on three separate weekdays. They then measured how long it took for ordinary mail to be postmarked and delivered to county elections offices across all 36 Oregon counties.
Read shared the findings at a news conference Tuesday. One piece of mail sent to the Harney County elections office took 11 days to arrive, although it had received a postmark within a few days of being sent.
The results prompted Read to recommend mailing completed ballots at least seven days before Election Day.
Secretary of State Read said, “You can be confident your ballot will be postmarked and delivered on time if you mail it at least a week before Election Day.”
Under Oregon law, ballots received up to seven days after Election Day can still be counted, provided they are postmarked on or before Election Day. However, postal delays could leave voters waiting longer than expected for confirmation that their ballots have arrived.
Read advised voters who haven’t mailed their ballots by that point to instead use an official ballot drop box or deliver their ballots directly to their county elections office. Oregonians can check election information, including official ballot-return deadlines, through the Oregon Secretary of State’s election website.