A voter drops off a ballot on Saturday, October 31 in Forest Grove. Photo: Chas Hundley
Those wishing to vote must do so today, at a ballot drop site or the county elections office.
If you’re in line by 8 p.m., stay in line – you can still vote.
“You have the right to vote or cast your ballot if you are in line by 8 p.m. at an official ballot drop box or county elections office,” Oregon Secretary of State Bev Clarno said on Tuesday morning as she tweeted out the Oregon voter bill of rights.
The Washington County Elections office asked that voters keep an eye open around ballot sites on Election Day. “If you see something, say something,” the agency tweeted. “It is illegal to block access to election offices or dropboxes. If you see this going on, contact the police and let the Election Office know at 503-846-5800.”
At 8:52 a.m. Tuesday morning, the state said that 2,155,350 ballots had been cast statewide, representing a 73.1% turnout of registered voters. In the 2016 presidential election, there were 2,051,448 votes cast, for a total turnout of 80.3% of registered voters.
Washington County voters have turned in 292,924 ballots as of Tuesday morning according to Oregon Secretary of State data, which represents about 75.9% of eligible voters in the county.
Broken down by the four largest registered voting groups, as of the statewide count on Tuesday morning, Washington County had 148,904 eligible Democrats, of which 127,474 have voted for a total turnout of 85.61%; 129,502 non-affiliated voters, of which 79,183 have voted, for a turnout of 61.14%, 83,936 Republicans; of which 68,702 have voted for a turnout of 81.85%, and 17,018 Independents, of which 13,112 have voted for a turnout of 77.05%.
Those who have turned in a ballot and are seeking to find out if it has been received by the county elections department should visit Oregonvotes.gov to check the status of their ballot, though it can take between 48 and 72 hours from when a ballot is dropped off at a ballot box — perhaps longer for ballots mailed — to appear in the system.
It is too late to drop your ballot in the mail. Your vote will not be counted if you mail your ballot today. Head over to one of Washington County’s 21 official ballot drop sites and slide your envelope on in.
If you’re looking for some inspiration from voters’ past, take a look at our special Lilly Diaries Election Day edition, with seven election days starting in 1928 in western Washington County.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
