April 21, 2022 3:50 a.m.

A few changes will take affect starting with the May Primary Election.

Douglas County Clerk Daniel Loomis said a new Oregon law, House Bill 3291 known as the “postmark rule” went into effect at the start of the year. Loomis said that changed Oregon’s mail-in voting laws and states that any mail-in ballot postmarked by the United States Postal Service on or before 8:00 p.m. on Election Day is considered on time and will be counted, as long as it is in the mail and arrives to the county clerk no later than seven days after the date of the election.

Loomis said a schedule of election results release times is posted: https://douglascounty-oregon.us/178/Elections.  Those who take their ballot to the post office on or near Election Day should ask that their envelope is stamped with a hand-cancellation stamp. Fifteen ballot-drop sites continue to be available around the county for ballots to be taken to before 8:00 p.m. on Election Night.

Loomis said the second change is that there will no longer be an optional secrecy sleeve with ballots, as the ballot return envelope has been enhanced with a printed security weave that protects the privacy of the ballots. Loomis said this will save time and money. For a ballot to be valid, the ballot return envelope should always be signed.

For more information on elections, go to: https://douglascounty-oregon.us/178/Elections

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