Oregon primary election carries on, despite COVID-19

Some inside drop-off sites might not be available - but no stamp required, so every mailbox is a drop box

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — We are in full swing of election season and Oregon’s May 19 primary election is now less than a month away. Oregon Secretary of State Bev Clarno had this update for voters on Monday:

The purpose of the primary election is to elect nonpartisan candidates to office and for the Republicans and Democrats to choose their nominees to run in the General Election on November 3rd. Minor political parties (Constitution, Independent, Libertarian, Pacific Green, Progressive, Working Families) will each decide on their own who their nominees will be for November 3rd.

This year, Oregonians do not need a stamp to return their ballot, which makes every mailbox a dropbox. If you choose to do so, you can still return your ballot to official dropboxes all around the state. Some that you may have used in the past that were inside buildings may not be available this election because of the virus, but all of the outside ones will be available.

You can find the most up to date list of drop boxes on our website: OregonVotes.gov/dropbox around May 1. Other than that, for voters, this election will be just like previous ones, even in the midst of this pandemic.

Voter pamphlets containing voting information, candidate statements and measure arguments should arrive at every residence April 22nd-24th. The voters’ pamphlet is also available online at OregonVotes.gov. Military and overseas ballots have already been mailed out and additional information can be found at OregonVotes.gov/military. Regular ballots will be mailed out starting on April 29th and you can track them at OregonVotes.gov/MyVote.

If you would like to register to vote, update your registration, or change your political party, the deadline is April 28th but please do it as soon as possible. You can do that on our website OregonVotes.gov.

Key Dates:

Voter Pamphlets Arrive April 22nd-24th

Last Day to Register/ Make Changes April 28th

Ballots Are Mailed April 29th

Election Day May 19th

“Our elections are safe, secure, and efficient,” said Secretary Clarno. “I hope that all eligible voters take the opportunity to participate in this year’s primary. The democratic process is so important to our community, and participation is very easy, with our vote-by-mail system in place.”

Remember, your ballot must be received by election officials by 8:00 pm on May 19th to be counted! Postmarks do not count. Please return your ballot as early as possible. If you are returning your ballot through the mail, check with your county elections office to see how early you need to mail the ballot for it to arrive at your county elections office in time.

As always, your trusted source of election information is OregonVotes.gov.