Today marks one week until Election Day for the November general election, and the Oregon Secretary of State’s office is recommending that, starting tomorrow, voters exclusively return their ballots via secure, official drop box.

“With one week until Election Day, voters need to know their options and make a plan to get their ballot in on time,” Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read said. “Your vote is your power to hold government accountable. Don’t take any chances when it comes to returning your ballot – mail today or use a drop box.”

Ballots deposited in official drop boxes are picked up by elections workers and taken directly to local elections offices.

If mail is the only option, voters should go into their local post office and request a manual postmark be applied to their ballot envelope as soon as possible.

To be counted, all ballots must either be put into a drop box by 8 p.m. on Election Day or postmarked by Election Day and received within the 7-day post-election grace period.

A test organized by the Secretary of State’s office in coordination with Oregon’s 36 county elections officials demonstrated that a ballot returned at least one week before Election Day has a high likelihood of arriving to its destination on time.

As of Tuesday morning, 730,011 ballots have been received by county elections offices, a turnout rate of 23.42%. This is ahead of where Oregon was at the same point during the 2022 general election when 590,526 ballots had been received, a turnout rate of 19.7%. The final turnout rate in the 2022 general election was 66.9%

“We’ve seen strong turnout across the state so far, but I’m never going to be satisfied until we get to 100%,” Secretary Read said. “If you haven’t received your ballot yet, reach out to your county elections office for a replacement ballot. To every Oregonian who hasn’t cast their ballot yet: Don’t wait, make your voice heard.”

To provide more voters with a secure and convenient way to return their ballot, additional official drop boxes have been installed in high-impact locations across the state. The Secretary of State’s office received emergency funds for new drop boxes from the Oregon Legislature and has been working with counties to finalize placement.

Five additional boxes have been installed since the Secretary of State’s office shared a progress update on Friday, bringing the total number of new boxes to 17:

• Douglas County:
  • Glide Community Center parking lot, 20062 N Umpqua Hwy, Glide, OR 97443
  • Oregon Department of Human Services parking lot, 738 W Harvard Ave, Roseburg, OR 97471
• Tillamook County: Nestucca Fire District – Beaver, 20055 Blaine Rd., Beaver, OR 97108
• Umatilla County: 3920 Westgate, Pendleton, OR 97862
• Wasco County: 57594 Tygh Valley Rd, Tygh Valley, OR 97063

Voters also still have time to sign up for ballot tracking at OregonVotes.gov/Track. Voters who sign up now who haven’t returned their ballot yet will get a notice when their ballot is received by their county elections office. Since the Secretary of State’s office expanded the service statewide for this election, voters in every county in Oregon have signed up.