In a blunder that has sent ripples through Multnomah County, nearly 170 voters were sent replacement ballots due to a mix-up in redistricting maps. The error, which affects a minuscule .03% of the county's registered voters, comes from outdated map data that failed to reflect changes made in 2022. Those hit by this mistake are predominantly from Southeast Portland, with a third from Southwest Portland and the remainder scattered throughout the county.
An alert about the misstep was raised on May 7 and the Multnomah County Elections office quickly got to work to right the wrong. According to Multnomah County, new ballots were shipped out starting May 8 for Southeast Portlanders, and the following day for those in Southwest, done in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service. Officials advise that if a voter has already mailed in the original ballot, they should still send the replacement. However, only one will be counted, and personal voter letters explain how to handle the two ballots – they may "consider destroying or discarding their original ballots."
This isn't the county's first run-in with ballot issues. Just recently, an oversight left 9,300 Gresham-area voters without Measure 26-244 on their ballots, prompting a directive from Chair Jessica Vega Pederson for a complete review of districting and ballot processes. Multnomah County Elections has laid out a clear timeline: replacement ballots need to be returned by 8 p.m. on May 21, the date of the Primary Election, to be considered valid, according to Multnomah County.
For those voters who might have been left ballot-less till now, the county urges a call to 503-988-VOTE, and for more information on the nearest Official Ballot Drop Site, residents can turn to multco.us/dropsites. On the brighter side of this electoral hiccup, the upcoming primary won't feature candidate contests for the City of Portland elected offices, which makes the mix-up slightly less chaotic. The City is poised to debut its ranked-choice voting in November's ballot.
Following the hiccup, Multnomah County has confirmed that it will offer extended hours at both voter service locations to accommodate those needing assistance with the new ballots or with voting in general. These locations include the Multnomah County Duniway-Lovejoy Elections Building and the Voting Center Express, in the Multnomah County East Building. For the technologically inclined, there's the option to “Track Your Ballot” via multnomah.ballottrax.net, ensuring voters can stay abreast of their ballot's status. As a final note, Multnomah County Elections reminds voters to drop off their ballots by Election Day, May 21, at one of the 30 official Ballot Drop Sites listed online.
