October 20, 2020 4:00 a.m.

Nearly 7 percent of registered voters have already returned their November General Election Ballot to the Douglas County Clerk’s Office.

County Clerk Daniel Loomis told News Radio 1240 KQEN that is about 4 percent ahead of the same time in 2018 and is in line with the participation rates for the 2012 and 2016 Presidential elections. Loomis said his staff have currently handled 40 percent more ballots than at the same point in the last Presidential election, due to the increased number of registered voters.

Loomis reminds voters to make sure they have signed their ballot envelope. He told KQEN that a lot of voters are bringing their ballot directly to the Election’s Office. Loomis said they would prefer that voters use the ballot drop slot located just a few steps from their office door. He said that would reduce wait time. Loomis said due to COVID-19 restrictions, there is a limited number of people that can be inside their office at the same time.

Ballots are due back by 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday November 3rd. They can be mailed in or taken to one of several drop boxes around the county. A link to a list of those locations is posted with this story at www.541radio.com: https://www.co.douglas.or.us/clerk/drop_site_locations.asp