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Ballots must be turned in by 8 p.m. today By Dani Dodge It�s Election Day � but the polls aren�t open. This is the state�s first all mail-in presidential election, although some people continue to believe they can still vote at the polls. They can�t. No one can. Where to drop off ballots It�s too late to mail ballots. Here are the sites where you can drop off ballots today: County Courthouse, 10 S. Oakdale Ave., Medford. Payment center drop box in back and curbside drop box on Eighth Street, open until 8 p.m. Elections office, Room 216, Courthouse, open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Ashland Library, 410 Siskiyou Blvd., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Point Library, 226 E. Pine St., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eagle Point Library, 158 W. Main St., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Jacksonville Library, 170 S. Oregon St., noon-8 p.m. Phoenix Library, 110 W. Second St., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Rogue River Library, 412 E. Main St., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Shady Cove Library, 22477 Highway 62, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Talent Library, 105 N. I St., noon-8 p.m. Instead, people who want to vote must take their ballots to drop boxes placed around the county and at the Jackson County Courthouse. "I don�t know how many there will be, but we are still getting calls from people who want to know where their polling place is," said County Clerk Kathy Beckett. "It shocks me because we�ve had so much publicity on the vote-by-mail." Ballots will be collected at drop sites until 8 p.m. this evening. Do not put your ballot in the mail; postmarks don�t count. And don�t forget to sign the back of the envelope, Beckett warns. Ballots must be signed to be processed. With that processing slow and voters still returning ballots, Beckett warns that her office may not have definitive results to report tonight. As of Friday, 44 percent of the county�s ballots had been returned, Beckett said. The returns match the statewide rate, said Secretary of State Bill Bradbury. "We are well on our way to reach the highest voter turnout in the country," Bradbury said in a press release. Ballots were pouring in so quickly to Jackson County on Monday that elections workers had to empty drop boxes hourly. An election worker had to make an emergency trip to Ashland because the drop box at the library was overflowing by 10 a.m. "It�s what I�d call controlled chaos here," Beckett said. "The traffic has been extremely heavy and people are dropping off their ballots like crazy." Beckett said she can�t promise that her office will have final, unofficial results even by Wednesday. Her staff is several days behind in verifying signatures on returned ballots. "We are so far behind, that come election night, we aren�t sure what percentage we will have to report," Beckett said. "We still have tons of ballots to process and you can�t process them in one day." By midnight, the count may include as little as 20 to 30 percent of all votes cast, she said. "We have a lot of last-minute activity that keeps us from getting our other work done," she said. That work includes processing new ballots for people who threw away originals thinking they�d be voting at the polls. "So that causes some confusion," Beckett said. "They have to come in here and get a replacement." Beckett said people interested in seeing updated results tonight can check out the county�s Web site at www.jacksoncounty.org. Statewide results can be found at www.oregonvotes.com. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.