Today, Tuesday, Oct. 27, is the last day to safely send your ballot in the mail and be sure it will arrive in time to be counted for next week’s general election.
Of course, this advice only applies to the record-low number of registered voters who have not yet returned their ballots.
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If you plan to mail in your #Election2020 ballot, make sure it goes in the mail today. After today, your options are to take it to a local drop site or bring it by the Elections Office.
With a week to go, almost half of all eligible Clackamas Countians (143,562, or 49.8%) have already cast their ballots — a mark just a few points shy of the national turnout four years ago: 55.5%.
Clackamas County’s final turnout was 81.7% in 2016 — a mark it seems almost sure to top this year. At this point in the previous presidential election cycle, “only” 61,880 Clackamas Countians had returned their ballots: 23%.
Ballots may be turned in at official drop boxes until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. There are two locations in Canby: outside the Canby Civic Center and Library, and at Arneson Gardens (behind Fred Meyer).
Clackamas County has 308,062 registered voters — about 40,000 more than in 2016. Voter registration rolls suggest Democrats outnumber Republicans countywide, while in the area defined by the Canby School District — and to a lesser degree, Canby city limits — the pendulums swings to the right.
So far, the results have been in line with early predictions that this year’s turnout, nationwide, would be the highest the country has seen in more than a century.
Statewide, the 2016 general election saw a record number of votes cast — 2,051,452 — though the percentage of registered voters who turned out (80.33%) was not the highest ever.
That mark was actually surpassed by the three previous presidential elections: 2012 (82.80%), 2008 (85.67%) and 2004’s near-record turnout of 86.48%.
The highest percentage turnout in Oregon’s history was in 1960, as 779,159 of the state’s 900,627 registered voters (86.51%) visited the (in-person) polls to help spur Sen. John F. Kennedy’s narrow defeat of the incumbent vice president, Richard Nixon.
Whether or not the 2020 election will surpass that mark — as expected — remains to be seen, but with a week to go, we’re already over halfway there.
Voters can track their ballot using the Oregon Secretary of State’s website to ensure it has been received. Anyone who has questions or concerns over their ballot is encouraged to reach out to the Clackamas County Elections Office by calling 503-655-8510 or emailing elections@clackamas.us.
