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57 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, January 26, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 26, 2004 County clerk reminds voters not to procrastinate By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune Kathy Beckett would like to see more ballots, please, and the sooner, the better. The Jackson County clerk said Monday that only 20 percent of registered voters had returned their ballots by the weekend. If voters continue to procrastinate, election workers will have their hands full verifying voters’ signatures and sorting ballots prior to counting the votes on Nov. 2. Beckett predicted 85 percent of Jackson County’s 122,000 registered voters would participate in this hotly contested election. With only about 25,000 ballots returned so far, election workers could face a torrent of nearly 75,000 ballots over the next eight days if Beckett’s predictions hold true. "They’re not coming in the way we’d like to see them," she said. Beckett noted that workers have to verify the signature on each mail ballot and sort the ballots by precinct before they can be counted. Advertisement "It’s all very labor intensive," she said. "If voters wait until the last minute (to send their ballots), we’re going to be a long time waiting for results that mean anything to anybody." About 45 percent of the county’s voters turned in their ballots during the final two days before the 2000 election, when Jackson County was one of the last in the United States to finish its official vote count. Across Oregon, about 24 percent of voters had returned their ballots by Monday, according to data from the Secretary of State’s Office. That’s nearly twice as many as the 13 percent who had voted eight days prior to the 2000 election. Some local voters still have not received their ballots. Beckett noted that ballots for about 4,000 people who registered just before the deadline were being mailed Monday. Other voters who moved to a new residence did not receive their ballots because ballots cannot be forwarded. "When people move, they’re usually living in different (voting) districts," Beckett said. Election workers were preparing new ballots for many newly moved voters on Monday, Beckett said. She said voters should bring their ballots to one of the drop boxes at branch libraries or the county offices at 1101 W. Main St. in Medford if they have not mailed them by Wednesday, just to make sure they will be counted. Ballots that are received after 8 p.m. on Nov. 2 are not counted. Drop boxes are located at all branch libraries except Applegate, Butte Falls, Medford, Ruch and Prospect. While ballots were coming in slowly, the drop boxes in front of the county offices on West Main Street were still filling up. Jackie Randall of Medford said she stopped at the county office to deliver her ballot Monday afternoon, but couldn’t push it into the already-full box. When she took it out to put it in a second drop box, several other ballots came out with hers. When informed of Randall’s difficulties, Beckett said workers check the ballot drop boxes "every couple of hours" to make sure they don’t overfill. "It doesn’t take long to fill those puppies up," she said. Beckett noted that a number of voters have called the elections office to complain about telephone calls from political parties and ballot measure campaigns encouraging them to vote. Beckett said political organizations often buy lists of the names of people who have voted and lists of registered voters to sort out who has not yet voted. "The Republicans are calling the Republicans," she said, "and the Democrats are calling the Democrats, and the ballot measure campaigns are calling everybody." It’s all perfectly legal, she said, but there’s one sure way to stop those calls: return your ballot. "As soon as you get your ballot in, the calls will stop." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? 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