Oct 12, registration deadline

[sandnsea]

Just thought I'd give a little heads up, we're down to the wire. Time to give every spare minute to voter registration!

[goclark]

1. Yes, yes, yes!!

[stevedeshazer]

2. And the election starts early here!

We will get our ballots in the mail a couple of weeks before the election.

Can't emphasize enough the importance of registering and voting.

[treading_water]

3. Voter registration information

I'm running a voter registration table at my place of employment next week, so I called the Multnomah county elections office with some questions. Information that you should know:

The oregon state website:
http://www.oregonvotes.org/index.htm

They have lots of info here, including phone numbers for county elections offices.

If you want to find out if you are a registered voter, call your county elections office. If they can't find you by name, have them do a birth date search.

Forms from a voter registration drive can be turned in in bulk. If a voter wants to turn in their registration themselves, it will have to be accompanied by photo id. Photo id is not required if turned in through a voter registration drive.

Multnomah county elections office has a slot in the door for turning in registrations after hours.

They are getting LOTS of registrations. People are registering multiple times and that is causing problems. Please call first, before registering again.

If you are re-registering after moving in from a different county, note the county at the bottom of the form. This will help them mark you as inactive in the previous county and activate you in your current county. This will help make sure you get your ballot.

People who are in the oregon state system, but listed as "inactive" (due to an address change or some such), are not subject to the Oct 12th deadline. The October 12th deadline is only for NEW, never before, registrations. If you are already there, you can process your address change at any point up to the election.

The October 15th ballot mailing isn't the only mailing. People who aren't in the system prior to the Oct 15th mailing, will receive ballots when their registration is processed.

Tips from the elections office for filling out the forms:
* Have a telephone available for people to call the elections office to see if they are registered.
* Fill out the form completely.
* Write legibly.

People registering in the last few days will likely get their ballot before they get their precinct card.

Have fun! Vote!