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Changes to voting process to begin in May, 2022 election in Douglas County

Written by on April 20, 2022

Douglas County, Ore. – Changes to the voting process to begin as soon as the May, 2022 election.

First, a new Oregon law (House Bill 3291) known as the “postmark rule” went into effect on January 1, 2022.  The new law changed Oregon’s mail-in voting laws and states that any mail-in ballot postmarked by the United States Postal Service (USPS) on or before 8:00 pm on Election Day is considered on time and will be counted, as long as it is in the mail and arrives to the county clerk no later than seven days after the date of the election. 

For a schedule of the election results release times, see the Douglas County elections webpage at https://douglascounty-oregon.us/178/Elections.  Persons who use the USPS mailing system, the elections office continues to recommend that persons mail ballots one week in advance of Election Day, just to be safe. The office also suggests persons take their ballot to the post office on or near Election Day, and ask the post office to stamp the ballot envelope with a hand-cancellation stamp (postmark).  Roseburg has 15 ballot drop sites in Douglas County that are always a safe and sure option, all the way up to 8:00 pm on Election Night.

The second change is that the elections office will no longer be including an optional secrecy sleeve with ballots, as ballot return envelopes have been enhanced with a printed security weave that protects the privacy of ballots.  Your privacy and the secrecy of your vote will continue to be protected throughout the ballot counting process. This change will save money and staff time.  Also, ballot return envelopes now have updated language in the Voter Statement (declaration) and flap to account for the postmark rule changes.  As a reminder, for a ballot to be valid, make sure to always sign the Voter Statement on the ballot return envelope.

Additionally, some Douglas County voters may notice a change in their Congress, Senate, and/or Representative district(s) or voter precinct on their ballot.  This is due to the recent completion of redistricting.  The redistricting changes came about as a result of the 2020 Census, with Oregon’s population growth and movement over the prior decade necessitating new legislative maps.  For more information on redistricting please refer to the Oregon Secretary of State’s Voting and Elections webpage at https://sos.oregon.gov/voting-elections/Pages/default.aspx

For more information about elections, visit the Office of the Douglas County Clerk, in Room 124 of the Douglas County Courthouse located at 1036 SE Douglas Avenue in Roseburg or call (541) 440-4252 or visit our website at https://douglascounty-oregon.us/178/Elections.  State Voters’ Pamphlets are compiled and distributed by the Secretary of State’s Office.  An electronic and audio version can be found at http://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Pages/current-election.aspx


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