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Oregon voter registration deadline is Tuesday for May election

Official ballot drop box in Multnomah County. October 19, 2020 (KOIN)

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregonians hoping to cast their vote in the May 16 special election must register to vote no later than Tuesday, April 25. 

To be eligible to register to vote online, a person must have a valid Oregon driver’s license, permit or ID card. The online registration deadline is 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, 2023. 

Anyone who does not have a valid Oregon driver’s license, permit or ID, or a person with an expired ID, can still register on a paper Oregon voter registration card. These cards can be found at the Multnomah County Duniway-Lovejoy Elections Building, picked up at any post office or public library, or printed from the Multnomah County Elections website

All paper Oregon voter registration cards must be postmarked in the mail by Tuesday, April 25. 

Voters can also register to vote in person at the Duniway-Lovejoy Elections Building in Portland until 5 p.m. April 25. 

In Washington, voters have until eight days before election day to register online. They can register in person up until election day.

On May 16, there will be a special election in Oregon where voters can decide on things like local school board members, community colleges, fire districts, water districts, education districts and local ballot measures. 

Oregon residents can go online to check if they are registered to vote at their current address. They can also register to vote at oregonvotes.gov/register.  

On Monday, the Multnomah County Elections Office said due to an error in proofreading, ballots are being reprinted and will be mailed “a few days later than anticipated.” Ballots were originally expected to be sent out Wednesday. 

The county says they regret the inconvenience and the error — which officials confirm will cost about $300,000.

“We are still working to determine the exact timing of ballot delivery,” said Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott. “The ballot proofing error was discovered today, Monday morning, April 24, and affects every ballot. We are working swiftly to print corrected ballots and mail them to voters.” 

Officials say ballots will now be mailed out no later than Tuesday, May 2 — meaning voters will still have two weeks to make their decisions. 

Multnomah County also informed voters that five official ballot drop sites have moved due to library construction.