Oregon expects 'successful' 2024 election amid ballot delay concerns

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Ahead of November, Oregon election officials are preparing for the general election as election directors across the country are voicing concerns the United States Postal Service cannot handle an influx of mail-in ballots.

These concerns were raised on Tuesday during a panel discussion for the National Association of State Election Directors in Minneapolis, led by Oregon Election Director Molly Woon, as reported by the Associated Press. AP reported the elections directors were concerned ballots won't be delivered in time to be counted.

The Oregon Secretary of State's office told KOIN 6 News it is looking forward to a "successful" election in November, but one county clerk has concerns over USPS' Delivering for America plan.

These concerns come after a group of 19 senators -- including Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley -- wrote a letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on June 24, asking for details on how the USPS is preparing for the 2024 election.

In their letter, the lawmakers noted USPS' "extraordinary" job delivering ballots by mail for the 2020 and 2022 elections -- boasting 98% of mail ballots delivered in three days during the 2022 midterm election.

However, the senators said they were concerned after USPS rolled out its Delivering for America plan and planned on "downgrading" postal facilities in states including Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Georgia.

According to USPS' Mail Processing Facility Review, this includes "consolidating" postal facilities in Eugene and Medford.

In Oregon's Jackson County -- where Medford is located -- Clerk Chris Walker told KOIN 6 News that USPS has been a "trusted" business partner for state and local election offices. However, he has "many concerns" about USPS' Delivering for America plan ahead of the election.

"I have many concerns with the changes made to mail routing and delivery, especially concerning vote by mail elections and the timely delivery of mail ballots. Election offices depend on timely delivery to our voters and return ballots coming back to the office," Walker said.

According to Walker, during the 2024 May primary election, there were a few instances in which voters did not receive their ballots before election day and had to visit the election office to request a replacement ballot.

In another instance, some ballots that were cast and sent on time were not received with a postmark by the election office within the seventh day after Election Day. He also said there were a few ballots that were mailed from voters to the election office, but the ballots ended up being sent back to the voters -- he noted this happens every election but is "still unacceptable."

"In Jackson County, we did send our outgoing mail ballots out a day earlier (Thursday, May 2) than normal to accommodate the changes made at the USPS and most ballots were received within a day or two of processing at the USPS facility," Walker said.

The Jackson County Clerk noted he does not expect ballot delays for the election, but he's still concerned about USPS' overall changes.

According to USPS, the Medford facility is not closing as part of this plan and will be modernized into a processing center. The plan proposed moving originating mail from Medford to a Portland facility for more reliable service.

"I have questioned why, in a state that conducts elections solely by mail would these kind of drastic changes take place this year and not in a special election year," Walker said.

According to Walker, consolidation of the Medford facility has been in effect since February 2024.

"County Clerks around the state as well as the Secretary of State's office have expressed our concerns, items that were not up to our expectations in May and what we may be looking at for November 2024. We have also praised the state and local USPS employees for their hard work and dedication to elections in Oregon as we are aware these changes and challenges were not of their own doing but coming down from the federal level," Walker said.

In a statement to KOIN 6 News, USPS said they are "fully committed to the secure, timely delivery of the nation’s Election Mail. The Postal Service employs a robust and proven process to ensure proper handling and delivery of all Election Mail, including ballots."

"As in previous elections, we will deploy longstanding processes and procedures, as well as allocating additional resources, including, but not limited to, expanded processing procedures, extra transportation, extra delivery and collection trips, daily all-clears and overtime, to ensure that Election Mail reaches its intended destination in a timely manner," USPS furthered.

USPS told KOIN 6 News on Friday they are "reviewing the letter from the senators and the Postal Service will respond directly to the senators."

Oregon senators weigh in

In response to the letter from USPS, Sen. Wyden told KOIN 6 News, “Given the miserable track record of Postmaster DeJoy since Donald Trump appointed him to the job, I will be watchdogging each and every promise made in this letter." Wyden added, “Oregon’s proven vote-by-mail system is the gold standard, and I will not let this Trump crony take any opportunity to tarnish it.”

Sen. Merkley said “I have long stood against USPS downgrades here in Oregon. If the USPS has actually studied how the recent facility downgrades in the state will impact election mail, they must share that report as requested with the public now. We cannot allow Postmaster DeJoy’s poorly-packaged Delivering for America plan to interfere with the simple, safe, secure vote by mail system Oregon has had for decades. If there are concerns from county clerks and other local elections officials in Oregon, I stand ready to raise them directly with USPS to help ensure a smooth general election.”

The Oregon Secretary of State's response

In a statement to KOIN 6 News about ballot concerns, Ben Morris -- a spokesperson for the Oregon Secretary of State's Office -- said "Oregon has successfully conducted vote by mail elections for the last 24 years, and we expect to do so again in November. Oregonians have the option of voting through the post office, using a ballot drop site, or voting in person at their county election office."

Morris noted the secretary of state's office can cancel and re-issue ballots if the originals do not make it to voters in time.

“Election law directs counties to count any ballot that is postmarked on or before election day even if it arrives at the post office up to seven days later," Morris explained. "This is one of many steps in the process that allows us to confidently say that we expect another successful election in November."

Similar to Jackson County, election officials in the Portland metro area -- including Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties -- said they do not expect ballot delays.