By Julia Shumway/Oregon Capital Chronicle
Time is running out to register to vote ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Oregonians have until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15, to register to vote and receive a ballot. Ballots will be mailed beginning on Wednesday, and voters will have until 8 p.m. on Nov. 5 to return their completed ballots.
More than 3 million Oregonians are already registered to vote. To check if you’re among them, visit oregonvotes.gov/myvote and enter your name and date of birth. Make sure you’re marked as an active voter and that your current address is shown.
Voters who need to update their address or register to vote can do so online if they have an Oregon driver’s license, permit or ID card number. Without one of those items, they’ll have to complete a paper form or print the completed online application form and deliver it to their county elections office by the close of business Tuesday. Find a list of county election offices on the secretary of state’s website.
Previously, anyone who had contact with the Driver and Motor Vehicles Services Division was automatically registered to vote if considered to be a U.S. citizen, but Gov. Tina Kotek paused that process until a review over the registration of noncitizens is completed by the end of the year.
After Wednesday, voters will be able to use the “my vote” page on the secretary of state’s website to see whether their ballots have been mailed and whether they’ve arrived back at local elections offices.
Oregon voters will weigh in on the next president, elect six members of Congress, a new secretary of state, attorney general and treasurer, 60 state House representatives, 15 state senators and local officials throughout the state. They’ll also decide whether to pass five statewide ballot measures — including ones that would raise taxes on businesses to send rebates to all Oregonians, allow state legislators to impeach statewide officials and enact a new voting system — and weigh in on local measures that could determine future funding for schools and roads.
This story first appeared in the Oregon Capital Chronicle.
