Central Oregon ballots start rolling in

Ballot returns start slow in Oregon’s mail-ballot system. But the closer the election gets, the more people head to the ballot box (or the mailbox).

In the tri-county area, more than 100,000 people received ballots for the Nov. 4 election in recent weeks.

“We’re still working on the ballots that came in from the mail over the weekend and at the drop sites,” Deschutes County Clerk Nancy Blankenship said Monday.

This time of year, clerk’s offices are running non-stop, and ballot counters stay late into the evening for the most up-to-date tallies.

In Deschutes County, more than 100,000 residents received ballots. As of Monday afternoon, 23 percent of those voters had returned their ballots.

“I think we’re right were we should be,” Blankenship said. “We’d like to have more, of course.”

Blankenship said they stand 1 percent lower on ballot returns than at this time four years ago, despite some big races and measures on the ballot.

Neighboring Crook and Jefferson counties both have more than 10,000 registered voters, and are at 24 to 26 percent of ballots returned.

The Crook County clerk said she thinks people are turning in their ballots later because of some tough-to-decide state measures.

Blankenship agreed: “There are some complicated measures.”

Controversial issues like legalizing marijuana, GMO labeling and more could be one reason voters are taking more time.

In total, just over 29,000 High Desert residents had voted as of Monday afternoon.

“Based on historical returns for a governor’s race, we’re looking at 70 to 75 percent return” by Election Night, Blankenship said.

That means at least 60,000 people still need to cast their vote.

And remember, postmarks don’t count, so don’t wait to late, if you plan to mail your ballot back. Drop sites for each county are listed in the Voters’ Pamphlet.