Oregon Ballots Due by 8 p.m. With 62% of Major-Party Voters and 28% of Nonaffiliated Voters Returning Ballots So Far
Oregon — Tuesday, Nov. 3, is the last day for Oregon voters to return their general election ballots. Official drop boxes close at 8 p.m., and the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office strongly encourages voters who still have their ballots to use a drop box.
Oregon counties had recorded 1,505,694 returned ballots, or 48.30% of the state’s 3,117,439 active voters, according to the state’s 6:43 a.m. Election Day report. About 271,000 ballots were logged as received Monday, the largest daily total in the report. Counties can revise those daily figures as they process ballots received earlier. Oregon’s unofficial ballot return report sos.oregon.gov
Democrats returned the most ballots, while Republicans had a slightly higher estimated return rate
Registered Democrats accounted for 612,415 ballots, or 40.67% of all returns. Republicans returned 462,306, or 30.70%. Relative to each party’s October registration count, an estimated 62.68% of Republicans and 61.93% of Democrats had returned ballots, a difference of three-quarters of a percentage point.
Nonaffiliated voters, Oregon’s largest registration group, returned 326,940 ballots. They accounted for 21.71% of all returns, while an estimated 28.31% of voters in the group had returned a ballot. The Independent Party of Oregon is a separate registration category and accounted for 79,870 returns, or 5.30% of the statewide total. The figures describe voters’ registrations. Candidate and measure results come from the vote count.
How the returns compare with 2022
Oregon’s final 2022 general election figures showed 1,997,689 ballots returned, or 66.9% of registered voters. Tuesday morning’s 2026 total was 491,995 ballots below that final count, with Election Day drop-offs and timely mailed ballots still to come. Democrats and Republicans each accounted for a slightly larger share of returns in the 2026 morning report than they did in the final 2022 figures. Nonaffiliated voters accounted for a smaller share, 21.71% compared with 23.08%.
| Voter affiliation | 2026 ballots received | Share of 2026 returns | 2026 return rate within group* | Final 2022 ballots | Share of 2022 returns | Final 2022 turnout within group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 612,415 | 40.67% | 61.93% | 798,656 | 39.98% | 78.5% |
| Republican | 462,306 | 30.70% | 62.68% | 605,544 | 30.31% | 82.8% |
| Nonaffiliated | 326,940 | 21.71% | 28.31% | 461,001 | 23.08% | 44.5% |
| Independent Party | 79,870 | 5.30% | 51.57% | 97,833 | 4.90% | 69.8% |
| Libertarian | 6,932 | 0.46% | 36.97% | 12,796 | 0.64% | 61.2% |
| Other | 6,585 | 0.44% | 37.80% | 8,750 | 0.44% | 55.6% |
| Pacific Green | 3,519 | 0.23% | 45.54% | 5,226 | 0.26% | 66.1% |
| Working Families | 2,674 | 0.18% | 31.39% | 3,286 | 0.16% | 39.4% |
| No Labels | 2,499 | 0.17% | 24.82% | — | — | — |
| Progressive | 1,954 | 0.13% | 43.70% | 2,244 | 0.11% | 65.1% |
| Constitution | — | — | — | 2,353 | 0.12% | 61.4% |
| Statewide | 1,505,694 | 100% | 48.30% | 1,997,689 | 100% | 66.9% |
Share of returns measures each group’s portion of all ballots received. The return rate measures how much of each registration group has returned a ballot. The 2026 rates by affiliation are estimates based on the state’s Oct. 5 registration report. The statewide rate uses the Oct. 16 active-voter count in the returns report. A dash indicates that the affiliation was not listed separately that year.
How to return your ballot today
- Use an official drop box by 8 p.m. Sign your ballot return envelope before dropping it off. Oregon voters can use any official drop site in the state. Check locations and hours with the official ballot drop box locator.
- Get help or request a replacement ballot. County elections offices are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If your ballot is missing or damaged, contact your county elections office.
- If mailing today, ask for a hand postmark. The Secretary of State says mailed ballots must be postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day and reach county election officials by Nov. 10. If you mail your ballot today, the state advises taking it to a post office counter and asking a postal employee to postmark it by hand.
- Look up candidates or track your ballot. Read the official voters’ pamphlets for candidate and measure information. Check whether your ballot has been received or sign up for updates through the state’s ballot tracking page.
The state expects to post the first unofficial results shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday and update them as counting continues. Final certification is scheduled for Dec. 10. Oregon election results
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