Oregonians who want to vote in the Nov. 3 general election have until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, to register or update their voter registration.
To be eligible, a voter must be a U.S. citizen and at least 18 years old by Election Day. Most eligible residents who got or renewed an Oregon driver’s license since 2016 were registered automatically. Election officials still recommend that all voters confirm their registration and current address at oregonvotes.gov/myvote.
Ballots go in the mail to registered voters starting Wednesday. Completed ballots, in the signed return envelope, must be received by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. Voters can return them to an official drop box, to the Benton County Elections office or by mail with the prepaid postage.
Election officials recommend mailing ballots no later than Oct. 27. Under U.S. Postal Service changes, mail is routed through a Portland processing facility before it is postmarked and delivered, which can add time.
In Philomath, the official 24-hour ballot drop box is outside near the main entrance of Philomath Community Library at 1050 Applegate St.
Benton County Elections is on the second floor of the Kalapuya Building at 4500 SW Research Way in Corvallis. It is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. A 24-hour drop box is in the rear of the building’s parking lot. All Benton County drop box locations are listed on the county’s elections website, and the Oregon Secretary of State’s office has an online drop box locator.
Statewide, voters will elect a governor, a U.S. senator, six members of the U.S. House, 15 state senators and 60 state representatives. Local ballots include three seats on the Philomath City Council, a Benton County commissioner race and an unopposed candidate for Benton County sheriff.
Philomath News plans to publish this week question-and-answer features with each candidate on the local ballot.