Ballots mailed on Election Day will count in Oregon under bill headed to governor

Ballots

Oregon vote-by-mail ballots for the May 2020 primary election.

Oregonians could mail their ballots right up until Election Day and still have them counted under a bill headed to Gov. Kate Brown.

House Bill 3291 would eliminate the need for the traditional warning given to voters about five days before each election: “It’s the last day to safely mail your ballot.”

“This well-tread phrase has the unfortunate effect of confusing many Oregon voters, especially those voters who are new to the state or new to voting in general” said Sen. Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego. “This is a common sense measure that helps decrease voter confusion.”

Currently, ballots that arrive at county elections’ offices after 8 p.m. on Election Day are not counted, regardless of when they were mailed.

Ballots that arrive in the mail up to seven days after an election would be counted, unless their postmark showed that they were mailed after Election Day. If a postmark is missing or unreadable, the bill would direct elections officials to assume the ballot was mailed prior to the deadline.

That provision concerned Republicans.

“This is an invitation to fraud,” said Sen. Fred Girod, R-Lyons. “What’s to stop a box of unstamped ballots from going into the clerk’s office?”

The bill passed 16-13, with Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, joining Republicans and independents in voting against it.

One Democrat, Sen. Lee Beyer of Springfield, noticeably hesitated before casting what effectively was the deciding vote. He said afterward that his decision to support was a “reluctant” one.

“People have all kinds of opportunities and lots of advanced warning to get their ballot in on time,” he said. “My concern is in close races that delaying the returns for a week or two afterwards will undermine faith in the system. I hope I’m wrong.”

It’s not clear how the bill would affect the timing of elections results. Most counties announce their first batch of vote totals shortly after the current deadline to return ballots, and the unofficial outcome of most races in Oregon is known by the end of the night on Election Day.

Some close races already remain in the balance for days after an election, and if more Oregonians decide to mail their ballots closer to, or on, Election Day, it could mean some results won’t be known for a week or more.

The bill does not change the deadline to return a ballot at a drop box, which will remain 8 p.m. on Election Day. If Brown signs it, the change would take effect with elections starting in 2022.

Chris Lehman clehman@oregonian.com

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