Update on the August 23 Special Election. The special election for Oregon City Mayor and Oak Lodge Water Services Authority District members has been marred by errors, voter confusion, and drop site access issues.
Last week, voters began calling the clerk’s office asking why they had received voter information for candidates that were not on their ballots, as some Oregon City voters received voters’ pamphlet inserts for the wrong election. It has been reported that over 3,700 voters have been affected by this error. Others have questioned why only one candidate for Oregon City Mayor was included on the voters’ pamphlet inserted with the ballot but not others. Candidates on the ballot can choose to submit a voters’ pamphlet statement by paying a fee and then submitting that statement to the clerk by the posted deadline. In the Oregon City mayoral race, only one candidate, Denyse McGriff chose to submit a statement to voters. Because she was the only candidate that submitted a statement to the clerk by the deadline she is the only one included in the voters’ pamphlet.
Voters have also reported that only four Official Ballot Drop Sites are open for turning in ballots. While the two contests center in and around Oregon City and the Oak Grove area for the August 23 Special Election, some voting residents have gone to drop off their ballots only to discover their closest Official Ballot Drop Site at Milwaukie City Hall was closed.
The four Official Ballot Drop Sites available for ballot drop off this election are: Oregon City-City Hall, Gladstone Civic Center, Oak Grove Public Library, and the Clackamas County Elections Drive-up site. This information is available on the voters’ pamphlet insert and the county election website. Voters can also mail their ballots before Election Day. Ballots mailed must be postmarked on or before Election Day in order to count.