17 New Oregon Ballot Boxes Installed Late as Midterm Vote Surges
Voters in Oregon are submitting ballots at record rates, but many new drop boxes did not open until a week after ballots were mailed.
By Meera Fletcher ·
Seventeen new ballot drop boxes were operational in Oregon this week, yet only three were installed by October 14. That date marks when ballots began reaching voters in the mail, creating a gap of roughly one week before most new sites could accept votes.
Secretary of State Tobias Read secured $618,000 in emergency funds from the Legislature to add 20 drop boxes around the state. The move followed concerns raised by President Donald Trump regarding the U.S. Postal Service’s role in vote-by-mail elections. As of the most recent reports, 17 of the 20 boxes were online. A fourth and fifth box appeared in Deschutes and Lane counties on October 15. The remaining units were installed between October 21 and 26.
Tess Seger, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s office, cited logistical hurdles for the delays. In Tillamook County, installation required an underground scan for buried utilities and a contractor available to work off-hours. Seger stated that reaching 15 boxes is remarkable, while the office aims for all 20 by Election Day.
The emergency funding was part of a larger $1.25 million package. The additional money expanded BallotTrax tracking software statewide and funded data management to clear inactive voters from state lists. On October 14, Read’s office confirmed that voters in all counties could now receive alerts when their ballots are received for counting.
Turnout data indicates a surge in participation compared to previous cycles. The state has counted 26.5% of active voters submitting ballots six days before the midterm election. Specifically, approximately 827,300 people have submitted ballots out of 3.1 million active voters. In the 2022 midterm, only 19.7% of active voters had turned in ballots at the same stage.
Multnomah County reported 105,900 submitted ballots as of Tuesday. Of those, 68,700 were registered Democrats, 18,400 were nonaffiliated, 12,700 were Republicans, and 4,200 were independents. Statewide, 321,400 Democrats, 222,000 Republicans, 135,400 nonaffiliated voters, and 40,600 independents have cast ballots so far. Monday saw the highest single-day total with 208,000 ballots dropped off statewide, including 36,000 in Multnomah County.
Federal election monitors are being deployed to polling locations in all 50 states, including Multnomah County, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Tim Scott, the Multnomah County election director, said federal officials must follow local observer procedures. In Tillamook County, turnout stands at 31%. County clerk Christy Nyseth is preparing to unlock a new drop box at the Nestucca Fire District office in Beaver. That location is the county’s 10th box and saves some voters a 30-mile round trip. Nyseth reported that hundreds of people visit the county courthouse drop box daily, a sharp increase from the typical handful or 50 visitors in recent years.
Source: Willamette Week
