By Kiara Doyal, Portland Medium
The voter registration deadline to participate in the May 21, 2024 Primary election is Tuesday, April 30.
Residents of Oregon who are not registered to vote with a valid Oregon driver’s license, driving permit, or ID can complete their voter registration online at OregonVotes.gov/Register. If you do not have any of the items listed above, you will need to fill out a paper Oregon Voter Registration Card, which you can find at the U.S. Post Office, any Multnomah County Library location, or at the Multnomah County Duniway-Lovejoy Elections Building
For those who are already registered to vote, now is a good time to check that your address and name are up to date in your voter registration record. If you require updating any information, you can update it online at oregonvotes.gov/myvote or with an Oregon Voter Registration Card.
In addition to the voter registration deadline, April 30 is also the deadline for selecting your party affiliation for the upcoming election. Voters who wish to vote in the Democratic or Republican May primary elections must be registered as a member of that party by April 30. Voters who are not affiliated with any party will receive a nonpartisan ballot, which will include nonpartisan state and local offices and measures.
In the circumstance event that voters may be away from near Election Day, you can request an absentee ballot to be mailed to your temporary address. To receive the absentee ballot, you must complete an Absentee Ballot Request Application, which you can find online at multco.us/absentee.
New services have now been made available in multiple languages, providing alerts and updates on your submitted ballot. The Track Your Ballot service will tell you when the County elections office has mailed your ballot to you, and when your returned ballot has been received. The service can also send out alerts that indicate whether the ballot has been accepted for counting or whether there is further action required from the voter.
For those who reside in Gresham, the Voting Center Express — located inside the Multnomah County East Building, 600 N.E. 8th St.– will be open Thursday, April 25 through the May 21 Primary Election. At the center, voters can replace a lost or damaged ballot, or update their voter registration information. For those with language barriers, or a disability, assistance is provided for those in need. Lastly, the Voting Center Express will only accept ballots during opening hours. The nearest 24-hour Official Ballot Drop Site to the Voting Center Express is in the parking lot at the Gresham Library, 385 N.W. Miller Ave. The Multnomah County Elections Office, inside the Duniway-Lovejoy Elections Building at 1040 S.E. Morrison St. in Portland, also remains open to the public for voter services. To find additional Multnomah County Official Ballot Drop Sites, visit multco.us/dropsites.
Normal office hours for the Voting Center Express and the Elections Office are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, leading up to the May Primary Election, both the Voting Center Express and Multnomah County Elections Office will offer extended hours to the following:
· Saturday, May 18, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
· Monday, May 20, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
· Election Day, Tuesday, May 21, 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
If you are not able to physically submit your ballot, you can also mail your ballot with free postage. All mailed ballots can be delivered to the Multnomah County Elections Office, Voting Center Express, or any official drop site in Oregon by 8:00 pm on Election night. Additional voting and election information is now available in 18 languages online at multco.us/education-and-outreach.
