Oregon may have been first on the vote-by-mail train, but that doesn’t mean the system doesn’t have kinks. Each primary election, county clerks send out thousands of extra ballots to voters who wait until the last two weeks before the deadline to join a party or make other changes to their registration. This year has been no different. The problem? With more than 2 million ballots to send, clerks have to work ahead of time to package the ballots up for mailing. While the deadline to register, change parties or ask for an Independent Party ballot was April 26, clerks already had prepared millions of ballots, leading thousands statewide to receive a first ballot with their old information and a second ballot with the new. High interest during this presidential election has amplified the issue, as voters have flocked to join the major parties to vote in their primaries. County clerks and Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins say the system is working fine, and there’s no need to fear that votes will be counted twice.
“The implications that somehow there’s fraud tied to this have no basis in facts,” said Tim Scott, director of the Multnomah County Elections Division. “Through the election management telesystem, we can tell whether this is or is not an active ballot.”
Still, the issues are widespread enough that some question whether vote-by-mail, which was pioneered in Oregon during the 2000 general election, is ready for prime time, as U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is pitching in Congress.
Atkins notified voters this week that they may have received the wrong ballot if they updated their voter registration in the two weeks leading up to the time ballots were sent out.
Full Article: Ballot problems in run-up to primary | Local | Eugene, Oregon.