County voter turnout is weak
By Terry Murry on Friday, November 4th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
UMATILLA COUNTY – Umatilla County’s voter turnout is always one of the lowest – if not the lowest – in Oregon. The elections division reported that on Wednesday afternoon, it had only received 22.7 percent of the ballots that were mailed out to voters. Board of Commissioners Chairman John Shafer says he’s concerned about the lack of election participation.
“I hear complaints daily about Salem and Washington D.C.,” he said. “Then, you see a number that’s so low. I mean, there are so many issues on the ballot.”
Starting with this election, ballots that are postmarked election day are eligible to be counted. In the past, those ballots had to actually be in the possession of the elections division. Shafer said that there are enough voter drop boxes in Umatilla County to make it just as easy to drop the ballots off there.
Drop boxes are located at both the county courthouse in Pendleton and the Stafford Hansell Governance Center in Hermiston. They are also at city halls in Echo, Milton-Freewater, Athena, Pilot Rock, Stanfield, and Umatilla, as well as at the Nixyaawii Governance Center on the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Those who live in other counties can find drop box locations on the elections page of the county websites.
