Bethany-area residents must register to vote by Tuesday, Oct. 13, to cast a ballot in Oregon's Tuesday, Nov. 3, midterm election.
Ballots will be mailed to registered in-state voters on Wednesday, Oct. 14, according to the Washington County Elections Division. The division manages records for more than 400,000 voters. Online registrations at oregonvotes.gov must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Paper registration cards must be postmarked by that date.
The governor's race tops the ballot. Incumbent Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, is seeking another four-year term. State Sen. Christine Drazan is trying to become Oregon's first Republican governor since 1987, OPB reported.
Check your registration status
Voters who are already registered can verify their information, update an address or change party affiliation at oregonvotes.gov. Address changes can be made through Election Day. Anyone who has not received a ballot by Thursday, Oct. 22, should call the county elections office at 503-846-5800.
The State Voters' Pamphlet is scheduled to arrive at residential addresses between Wednesday, Oct. 7, and Friday, Oct. 9. It has been available online at oregonvotes.gov since Sept. 29.
Washington County also offers free ballot tracking through BallotTrax at ballottrax.net/voter. Voters can sign up for text, phone or email alerts when their ballot is mailed, received and accepted.
Two local drop boxes
Two official ballot drop boxes serve the Bethany and Cedar Mill area:
- Bethany Library, 15325 NW Central Dr., Suite J-8, Portland 97229
- Cedar Mill Community Library, 1080 NW Saltzman Rd., Portland 97229
Both are accessible 24 hours a day once ballots are mailed and close at 8 p.m. on Election Night. Additional nearby sites include the Beaverton City Library on Hall Boulevard, the Beaverton Library at Murray Scholls and the Washington County Service Center East at 3700 SW Murray Blvd. in Beaverton.
The secretary of state's statewide drop box locator launches Oct. 14 at sos.oregon.gov.
Mail it early
Voters can also return ballots by mail, but they must be postmarked by Nov. 3. During Oregon's May 2026 primary, 7,314 mailed ballots were rejected for arriving with a postmark after Election Day. That was a 13% rejection rate, up from 9.5% two years earlier, according to Secretary of State Tobias Read's figures reported by the Tillamook County Pioneer.
Deschutes County Clerk Steve Dennison urged voters in a Sept. 15 OPB interview to use drop boxes when possible. "Using a dropbox, it's just like going from the voter's hands to the county clerk's office's hands," Dennison said.
Watch for misleading mail
Read warned in September that his office was receiving reports of misleading election mail from third-party groups. His office recommended voters look for the official U.S. Postal Service "Official Election Mail" logo to verify authenticity, OPB reported Sept. 22.
Washington County's Elections Division offers interpretation services, large-print ballots and other accommodations. The office is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day and can be reached at 503-846-5800 or [email protected].
