Secretary of State Fagan expects ‘smooth’ ballot-counting process, visits Clackamas County ballot corrections
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan said Tuesday she expects a smooth process at elections offices around the state. In Clackamas County, where a printing error could complicate reporting, Fagan along with senior staff visited the county’s election office to observe the ballot correction process.
“Oregon is the gold standard for secure, modern and transparent elections,” Fagan said in a news release. “I hope every Oregonian has the opportunity to turn in their ballot today. We expect a smooth process at elections offices around the state.”
The Oregon Elections Division has been in contact with county elections divisions across the state during the voting period, providing support as needed.
Fagan, along with Deputy Elections Director Luke Belant and Chief Legal and Risk Counsel P.K. Runkles-Pearson, visited Clackamas County Elections Tuesday to observe the ballot correction process. A printing error by the vendor Clackamas County used to print ballots resulted in a large number of ballots with unreadable barcodes, and county elections officials are consulting with the Oregon Elections Division to correct those ballots in a fair and transparent process.
“After consulting with Clackamas County to help them set up their process, it was reassuring to watch it in action,” Fagan said. “We are confident they will report accurate results.”
Clackamas County may be slower to report results on Election Day as a result of the printing error. However, the county has indicated it will certify the results within the statutory deadline.
The secretary of state said she expects Oregon to once again have high voter turnout, for a non-presidential primary election. If past trends hold, turnout will likely be in the low 30 percent range. Out of all the states that have already held primaries in 2022, Oregon will likely end up with the second-highest voter turnout. Those states are Texas (17.7%), Indiana (14%), Ohio (20.64%), Nebraska (33.29%) and W. Virginia (22.84%).
Election results will begin reporting after 8 PM tonight at https://results.oregonvotes.gov/.
