Multnomah County sends out 9,300 replacement ballots due to error

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Multnomah County Elections Division announced they are sending out replacement ballots for 9,300 voters who were sent a previous version that was incorrect. 

The original ballots omitted Measure 26-244, part of the May 21 Primary Election, which is related to residents within the regional government Metro. All of the erroneous ballots were sent to people living in East Multnomah County. Officials said the wrong ballots people received were designed for those who live outside Metro’s jurisdictional boundaries.

In terms of what people should do with the ballots, the new ballot will come with a letter explaining what to do with the faulty ballot as only one ballot can be counted for each voter. As the elections office explained in a release.

“Affected voters should return their replacement ballots by 8 p.m. on May 21, 2024, the date of the Primary Election. Ballots postmarked on May 21 or sooner will also be counted. Affected voters should consider destroying or discarding their original ballots," the release said.

Officials said if any voter has already returned their erroneous ballot, they “will hold the first ballot and wait for the second ballot to be returned.”

The elections office said that they found out about the error on Thursday, with the initial wave of replacements being sent out later that same day. Another wave of replacement ballots were sent out Friday. Two precincts in Gresham accounted for 9,200 of the erroneous ballot recipients, with the remaining sent to residents just south of the city.

People who have any questions or concerns can speak to elections office staff at 503-988-VOTE or by visiting a voter service location, the Multnomah County Duniway-Lovejoy Elections Building at 1040 SE Morrison St. in Portland or the Voting Center Express center inside the Multnomah County East Building at 600 NE 8th St. in Gresham. You can also check Multnomah County’s website for more information.