2024 PRIMARY ELECTION INFORMATION & FAQ
2024 PRIMARY ELECTION INFORMATION
County Candidates Filing Deadlines: September 14, 2023 until March 12, 2024 at 5:00pm. Manuals and forms located online at: www.oregonvotes.gov
Candidate for offices below may file at the County Clerk's office filing an SEL 101 and pay a $50 filing fee or submit SEL 121 petition signatures form. Minimum signatures required: 101 Petition must be approved in writing by the County Clerk before gathering any signatures.
SEL 338 Petition Submission - Candidate, Voters' Pamphlet Mark "Completed" Petition with certified signature sheets. Filed after signatures have been verified and certified by the County Clerk
Withdrawal of Filing - SEL 150 Withdrawal of candidacy or Nomination Deadline to withdraw is March 15, 2024
- Filling Forms required to be filed with the Secretary of State for State Voters' Pamphlet, Reference the following manuals for further instructions:
- State Voters Pamphlet Manual
- Voters' Pamphlet Filing Quick Guide
- Deadline: January 22, 2024- March 14, 2024 at 5 pm
Filing Forms required to be filed with the Secretary of State for the purpose of Campaign Finance Reporting. Reference the following manuals for further instructions.
- Campaign Finance Manual
- Transaction Filing in ORESTAR Quik Guide
- Candidate "Quick Guide" on Campaign Finance Reporting
- ORESTAR User's Manual: Transaction Filing
- ORESTAR User's Manual: Statement of Organization
"County Commissioner" - 4 year term
Candidate(s) will be printed on the Primary Election Ballot.
- If a candidate receives a majority of votes cast for the office, that candidate is elected at the Primary Election.
- If no candidate receives a majority of votes cast for the office, the two candidates who receives the highest number of votes are nominated and their names will be printed on the General Election ballot.
HB 3291 – Postmark Bill – postmarks do count; the ballot must have the postal indicator showing that the ballot was mailed not later than the date of the election (the clerk’s office has a
postal barcode reader to verify the date and time of the ballot received after election day).
If a postal indicator is not present or legible, the ballot shall be considered mailed on the date of the election and may be counted if the ballot is received no later than seven calendar days after the election,
SB 27- Housekeeping Bill: ORS 254.470 Procedures for conducting election (section 14), is not required to mail a secrecy envelope/sleeve if the Secretary of State has approved a different procedure.
Virtual viewing of the Election Board processing ballots, so to: https://www.jeffco.net Specific time to be announced on the Clerk's webpage.
Frequently asked questions:
1. Which candidates will be on my ballot? Partisan: Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division Offices Open May 21, 2024: https://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Documents/open-offices.pdf Nonpartisan Offices: Jefferson County Commissioner, Position#3 - 4 year term. Jefferson County Treasurer, 4 year term.
2. When will ballots be mailed in Jefferson County?
Ballots will be mailed Wednesday, May 1st, 2024. Voters who do not receive a ballot through the mail by Thursday, May 9th, should call the Jefferson County Clerk’s office at 541-475-4451.
3. Why will some voters receive two ballots?
If a voter changed their address close to the registration deadline they may receive two ballots. Only one ballot is ever active.
Ballots may not be forwarded by the USPS and the first ballot should be returned to the Clerk’s office as undeliverable. (ballot packets were assembled for mailing the last week of March). Only the Ballot issued to that individual that reflects their most recent voter registration information will be active.
4. When will write-in votes be tallied and reported?
Write-in votes will not be tallied on Election Day. The “abstracting” process for determining all the various write-in names will begin after Election Day and continue until completed. It is anticipated the write-in results will be released at the same time the election results are released and the election is certified.
When there is a candidate on the ballot for a contest, write-in votes are only abstracted for that contest if the total number of write-in votes equal or exceed the votes for the candidate.
Per OAR 165-007-0030, the Vote by Mail Manual, misspelling or abbreviations of write-in names are disregarded by the Election Board if the board cannot determine who the vote is intended for. For example – a first initial is not sufficient to determine who the vote is intended for, but a common abbreviated version of the first name is allowed (Bob for Robert).
5. How many registered voters are there in Jefferson County?
As of September 18, 2023 there are 17,281 registered voters in Jefferson County. The registration numbers by party are:
a. Democrat – 3306
b. Republican – 5642
c. Independent - 894
d. Nonaffiliated – 7081
e. Other minor parties – 316
Monthly Voter Registration Reports are published at: Jeffco.net/cc and under the Statistics Tab.
Important dates and other information:
- No postage is required to return your ballots.
- April 5, 2024 – Military and Overseas Ballots mailed.
- April 22, 2024 – Out of State ballots mailed.
- April 30, 2024 – Last day to register to vote
- May 1, 2024 – Ballots will be mailed.
- May 14, 2024 - Public Certification of Ballot Tally Machine
- May 21, 2024 – Election Day. Ballots must be in an official drop box or received by the Elections office by 8:00 PM on Election Day or Postmarked by USPS to by counted.
- Jefferson County 24 Hour Drop Sites are located at:
- Metolius City Hall
- Culver City Hall
- Madras – Jefferson County Clerk’s Office
- Crooked River Ranch – near the tennis courts
- Warm Springs – Wasco Street
- Camp Sherman – Black Butte School
- Public Certification of the County’s ballot tally machine will be Wednesday June 12, 2024 at ________am/pm in the Jefferson County Annex conference room. The public is welcome.
Remember to sign your return envelope. A ballot will not be counted unless the return envelope is signed and the signature matches the signature of the voter registration record.
