Myths and Misconceptions
There are many myths, urban legends, and misconceptions around elections that can cause fear and confusion. There are several types of harmful, false information:
Misinformation - Information that is false, but not created or shared with the intention of causing harm.
Malinformation - Information that is based on fact, but used out of context to mislead, harm, or manipulate a person, organization, or country.
Disinformation - False information that is deliberately created to mislead, harm, or manipulate a person, social group, organization, or country.
Information provided by CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency)
Below are several misconceptions. Click on any one to get the facts.
Simply sign your envelope how your normally would. If your middle name if not typically in your signature then it is not required. If you accidently included your signature in your name, we would likely still be able to accept the signature, based on the characteristics of your handwriting. If you are unsure whether your signature contains your middle name or not, you are welcome to contact our office to confirm your signature.
The barcodes on ballots ensure that a ballot is only scanned once and for that election only. They do not contain identifying information about a voter.
The barcodes on return envelopes track the receipt of the envelope itself. Once a ballot is removed from its envelope, they are separated and cannot be traced back to one another.
Anyone is allowed to return a ballot to a dropbox, post office, or election office, so long as the ballot envelope is signed by the person whose name is on the return envelope. A person turning in another's ballot must do so no later than two days after receiving the ballot.
Initial election results will be posted at 8 p.m. on Election Night, however they are by no means the final results. Voters whose signature was challenged or who forgot to sign their envelope may cure their signature issue up to 21 days after the election. Ballots will continue to be counted during this period of time. As ballots are counted, unofficial results will be periodically updated on our website. Election results are final upon certification, no later than the 27th day after the election.
Our signature verification teams are trained to review your handwriting for style and characteristics that are unique to you. At least two team members must agree that there are more non-matching than matching characteristics for your signature to be challenged, and you would receive a letter giving you the opportunity to cure the issue. If you feel that your signature has changed you are always welcome to fill out a voter registration card to give us your most recent signature.
Marion County uses the Hart InterCivic tally system to tabulate ballots. No county in Oregon uses the Dominion Tally system. See the following for more information:
No. Our voter registration staff works year-round using local obituaries, social security deaths lists, and other government records to proactively cancel the voter registration records of those who have passed away. Furthermore, the signature on every ballot return envelope is verified against the signature in the voter's file. A ballot packet with a non-matching signatures is not moved forward for counting. Instances of suspected fraud are referred to the Oregon Secretary of State's Office for investigation. It is a felony offense to vote for someone else. For more information, refer to the link below:
No. US citizenship is a requirement to register to vote in Oregon. Only voters who have attested under penalty of perjury that they are citizens are registered to vote and eligible to receive a ballot. It is against the law to knowingly make false statements on voter registration documents as detailed in ORS 260.715. Such an action may result in a fine of up to $125,000 and/or up to 5 years of imprisonment.
No, Oregon elections are secure and protected. Voter fraud is exceedingly rare. In 2020, out of millions of votes cast, residents and local elections officials reported 140 instances of potential voter fraud. Of these 140 cases, four cases were referred to the Oregon Department of Justice and two of those are pending resolution.
No. When a second ballot is issued to a voter, either at the request of the voter or if we receive an update to the voter's residence or mailing address, the first ballot is automatically "deactivated." A voter may only ever have one "active" ballot at a time. This ensures that only one ballot counts for each voter.
We verify the signature on each and every ballot return envelope. We take great care to confirm that the person who was issued a ballot packet is the person who returned it. In some instances, voters forget to sign their return envelope or their signature has naturally changed since last signing a voter registration document. Those voters are allowed 21 days after the election to cure their signature issue. Vote by Mail gives voters time to cure signature issues and allows for greater security and voter enfranchisement. Tabulation of the actual votes on accepted ballots takes mere seconds with our tally system, whereas hand counting 138 different contests across 408 different ballot styles would take days.
You are able to vote in person! After ballots are mailed to voters, you are welcome to come into our office and vote your ballot in person at one of our privacy booths.
For two days before and on election day, our Senator Hearing Room Voting Center is open for all voters to pick up a replacement ballot and vote in person.
Vote by Mail is a modern and secure method of voting that Oregon pioneered beginning in 1981 and continues to this day. Oregon transitioned entirely to Vote by Mail in 1999. From 2000-2019 there were approximately 61 million ballots cast by mail. Of those, only 38 criminal convictions of voter fraud were found. That's only a .00006% rate. Thanks to Vote by Mail, more Oregonians are able to vote, giving us the highest voter participation rate in the US. You can read more about Vote by Mail here:
Legislative Fiscal Office Budget Report (oregonlegislature.gov)No, use of the secrecy sleeve is optional. Your ballot can be processed regardless of whether you use the secrecy sleeve. The secrecy sleeve is designed so that you know your vote will not be visible to some outside party before your return envelope is opened.
Some Oregon counties are use a secrecy weave embedded into the return envelope itself, instead of a separate secrecy sleeve.
Anyone who coerces or intimidates a voter while they are marking or casting their ballot is subject to criminal penalties. If you or someone you know has been a victim of voter intimidation, report the violation to the Oregon Secretary of State immediately:
Report an Election Law Violation We take great care to confirm the results of our election. Our tally system is extremely precise and we frequently perform tests to confirm that tabulation is 100% accurate. On very close races in which the margin is less than one-fifth of one percent, we perform recounts by hand to verify the results of the tally system.
If you ever have questions about the election process, feel free to call or visit our office to clarify and information you may have heard online, in the news, or through word of mouth.
We also invite anyone to come to our office during an election to observe the process as it happens.
Visit or contact the Marion County Elections Division at the following:
Address: 555 Court St NE 2nd Floor Suite 2130, Salem, OR 97301
Phone: (503) 588-5041
Email: elections@co.marion.or.us
