Multnomah County Voters Should Expect Delays Receiving May Ballot

Multnomah County voters should expect delays in receiving their ballots for the May 16, 2023, Special District Election. 

Because of an error in ballot proofreading, the District 3 contest for the Multnomah Board of Commissioners was set to appear on every ballot countywide, instead of appearing only on ballots for voters who live in District 3.  

To correct that error, ballots will need to be reprinted and will be mailed a few days later than anticipated. We regret the error and inconvenience.

Typically, ballots are prepared and ready to mail the day after the voter registration deadline, which would have been Wednesday, April 26 — the first day that ballots can be mailed out by state law. 

Elections staff and our dedicated vendors will now ensure ballots are produced and mailed no later than the statutory deadline of May 2, or sooner. Voters will still have at least two weeks to make decisions and return their ballots in time for the May 16 election deadline to drop off or postmark a ballot. 

“We are still working to determine the exact timing of ballot delivery,” said Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott. “The ballot proofing error was discovered today, Monday morning, April 24, and affects every ballot.

"We are working swiftly to print corrected ballots and mail them to voters."

Some voters may have already received their ballots, such as those who’ve requested out of state ballots or military/overseas ballots. Voters who have received their ballot, should vote that ballot, and if they have any questions they can call the Multnomah County Elections Office: 503-988-VOTE (8683). 

“We will ensure every ballot is counted accurately — whether it contained the error or not,’’ Scott said. "If voters do want a replacement ballot we can work with them to get a replacement ballot. But if they’ve returned their original ballot, we will count it accurately.” 

Voters are encouraged to sign up for Multnomah County Elections Track Your Ballot Service to receive text, email, or voice alerts when the county elections office has mailed your ballot and also alerts when the elections office has received their ballot. Multnomah County voters can sign up by visiting multnomah.ballottrax.net.