Sept. 15 is National Voter Registration Day and with less than two months before Election Day, Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read is urging Oregonians to ensure they are registered.
"It takes less than 2 minutes to register to vote or to check your voter registration to make sure you are ready to cast your ballot this November," Read said in a statement. "Voting is how citizens hold government and politicians accountable, it's how we select representatives at all levels of government, and it's how we collectively decide the direction for our state and our nation. Your vote is your power. Use it."
In the Nov. 3 election, Oregon voters will be able to cast their vote on races ranging from Congress and the governor's office to local measures.
Prospective voters can register to vote online with the Secretary of State's MyVote website. Oregon also enrolls voters at the DMV through its Motor Voter program.
A person must be a U.S. citizen and 18-years-old or older to vote. Teens aged 16 and up can register but will not receive ballots for any elections until they turn 18.
People can also register to vote in-person at county elections offices or by mailing a completed voter registration card to their county elections office.
Registrations can be checked or updated online by searching your name and date of birth on MyVote.
The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 election is Oct. 13. Ballots will begin mailing out the next day.
Oregon accepts ballots for up to seven days following the election, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.
The May 19 primary had a 35% increase in ballots rejected for past Election Day postmarks compared to the 2022 primary, Read said.
Read recommends voters use drop boxes to turn in their ballots. He said people wishing to use the mail should send their ballots at least a week before the election or go into the post office for a manual postmark.
The U.S. Postal Service made changes to its postmark system earlier this year that mean mail may not be postmarked with the same date it was dropped off.
Legislators on Sept. 9 approved additional funding for the upcoming election, including money to add 20 more ballot drop boxes and expand a ballot tracking system.
The locations of the new boxes have not yet been announced. A full list of drop box locations will be shared closer to Election Day.
Marion County voters can register for the tracking system, BallotTrax, online to follow their ballot.
Anastasia Mason covers state government for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at [email protected] or 971-208-5615.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Sept. 15 is National Voter Registration Day. How to register in Oregon