Washington County voters who plan to mail their Nov. 3 ballots should get them in the mail by Tuesday, Oct. 27. Secretary of State Tobias Read issued the warning at a news conference.

The deadline stems from a change in U.S. Postal Service (USPS) procedures. Mail across Oregon is now routed to a central hub in Portland for postmarking before being sent to its destination, according to the Beaverton Valley Times. In past elections, a ballot dropped in a mailbox before the carrier's pickup on Election Day would be postmarked that same day. That is no longer the case.

Under Oregon law, ballots that arrive up to seven days after Election Day can still be counted if they carry a postmark dated on or before Nov. 3. But the routing change means a postmark may not be stamped for days after a voter mails a ballot, OPB reported.

"It used to be postmark meant: when the postal service received that item. Now, it's when it goes across a machine," Daniel Cortez, president of the Oregon chapter of the American Postal Workers Union, said at the news conference. Cortez said the postmark could come "a few days after originally being dropped off or placed in the mail," echoing Read's warning.

Read and his office tested the mail system in August. They sent 108 pieces of mail on three separate weekdays across all 36 Oregon counties. All were postmarked in time to count, but delivery times varied widely, according to OPB. One piece sent to Harney County took 11 days to arrive.

During the May 2026 primary, 7,314 ballots that arrived during the seven-day grace period were rejected for late postmarks, according to the secretary of state's office. That was a 35% increase from the 5,404 rejected in the comparable 2022 primary.

Drop boxes and other options

Voters who miss the Oct. 27 mailing window have several alternatives. Four official ballot drop sites serve the Bethany, Cedar Mill, Oak Hills and West Haven-Sylvan area, according to Washington County Elections:

  • Bethany Library, 15325 N.W. Central Dr., Suite J-8
  • Cedar Mill Community Library, 1080 N.W. Saltzman Rd.
  • Washington County Service Center East, 3700 S.W. Murray Blvd., Beaverton
  • West Slope Community Library, 3678 S.W. 78th Ave.

All four are accessible around the clock through 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. No postage is needed for drop-box returns. Oregon voters may use any official drop site in the state, not just one in their home county, according to the Hillsboro News Times.

Voters who still want to use the mail after Oct. 27 can walk into a USPS retail counter and ask a clerk for a manual postmark on the spot, Cortez said.

Washington County voters can also track their ballot through BallotTrax at OregonVotes.gov/Track. The free service sends text, email or phone alerts when a ballot is mailed, received and counted.

Voters who have not received a ballot should contact Washington County Elections at 503-846-5800. All ballots must be postmarked or returned to a drop box by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3.