LANE COUNTY, Ore. - Lane County voters are being urged to return their ballots as early as possible to ensure they arrive by the 8 p.m. deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Ballots must be received at Lane County Elections by one of three methods to be counted. Voters can drop them in a 24/7 county ballot drop box by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, turn them in directly to the Lane County Elections Office during business hours (open until 8 p.m. on Election Day), or mail them with a postmark no later than Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 10. USPS recommends putting a ballot in the mail seven days before the election or getting a manual hand-stamp postmark at the service counter of local post offices.
"The best way for voters to return their ballots is to place them in one of our 25 official ballot drop boxes across the county," Lane County Clerk Tommy Gong said. "If voters plan to return their ballots in the mail they should do so early – by Oct. 27 – in order to make sure they meet postmark and delivery deadlines."
Voters must remember to sign their ballot return envelopes before mailing or returning their completed ballot to Lane County Elections. The signature is a security measure used to verify identity, and signatures are compared to those in the voter registration record. A ballot may only be counted if the signatures match.
If you forget to sign the envelope or your signature does not match, you will receive a notice from Lane County Elections advising you of the issue and how to fix it. You have until the 21st day after the election to cure your signature issue and have your ballot counted.
According to Lane County Elections, voters should sign their natural signature and avoid signing with a middle initial if they don't usually use one. Election workers are trained to look for specific characteristics within each signature. If you think your signature has changed significantly, contact Lane County Elections.
It is against the law in Oregon to sign another person's name on a return envelope, even with permission or power of attorney. If it is difficult for you to sign, you can complete a signature attestation form and return it to Lane County Elections, which will allow you to use a signature stamp or other indicator that represents your signature.
If you and another person in your household sign each other's return ballot envelopes, simply place a line through the incorrect signatures and sign the correct envelopes. Voters can track the status of their ballot using BallotTrax, which sends notifications when their ballot is received by Lane County Elections, accepted for counting, and if they have a missing or non-matching signature issue that needs to be corrected.
The service is provided by the Oregon Secretary of State's Office for the Nov. 3 election. Voters can sign up for BallotTrax at the Oregon Secretary of State's website.
Voters with questions can email Lane County Elections or call 541-682-4234.