May 19 primary election is one week away; Washington County turnout at 11.6%

Election Day is one week away, and Washington County election officials are reminding voters to return their ballot as soon as possible.

As of Tuesday, May 12, 11.6% of registered Washington County voters had returned a ballot, according to the county’s voter turnout dashboard.

Voters can return their ballot by mail or at any official ballot drop box, county officials said in a media release Tuesday. Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before Tuesday, May 19, and received within seven days of Election Day. Ballots received after May 26 will not be accepted, regardless of postmark.

There are 21 official ballot drop boxes in Washington County, all accessible 24 hours a day. Locations nearest News in the Grove and Banks Post coverage areas include:

• Banks — Banks City Hall/Library, 42461 NW Market Street.
• Forest Grove — Forest Grove City Library, Pacific Avenue near Birch Street.
• Cornelius — Cornelius City Hall/Library, 1355 N Barlow Street.
• North Plains — North Plains City Hall, 31360 NW Commercial Street.
• Hillsboro — Hillsboro Brookwood Library, 2850 NE Brookwood Parkway; Hillsboro Public Library-Shute Park, 775 SE 10th Ave; Public Services Building parking lot at 155 N 1st Ave (a newly added location); Washington County Elections Office, 2925 NE Aloclek Drive; and Westside Commons, 801 NE 34th Ave.

A full list of drop boxes statewide is available at OregonVotes.gov.

The Washington County Elections Office will be open on Election Day, May 19, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. to assist voters. Voters who would like assistance with their ballot — including voters with disabilities and voters who would like assistance in a language other than English — are encouraged to contact the office at 503-846-5800 or Elections@WashingtonCountyOR.gov to make an appointment. The county offers in-person Spanish interpretation whenever its office is open, and telephone interpretation in many other languages.

Washington County’s voters’ pamphlet is available online. Selected portions are translated into Arabic, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Farsi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese, with translations posted at the state’s Washington County voters’ pamphlet page.

Voters can also sign up for BallotTrax, a free service that sends real-time updates by text, email or voice alert as a ballot moves through the system — including when it has been mailed, received and counted, and if there is an issue that needs attention. Voters only need to enroll once for future elections.

More election information is available at WashCoVotes.org.